American Boy
by coldplaywhore
Summary: Sequel to American Girl - Edward and Bella are on a road trip through the US with Alice and Jasper, four years after their initial journey to Europe. All Canon Couples. Lemony Goodness Galore.
1. New York to Boston

**A/N: Yes, I'm finally back. Here's chapter one for all you diehards. I considered holding back until I had written the next chapter, but I'm too nice honestly.**

**Thanks to my unofficial Beta MaggieMay14 for her help.**

**You will be a little lost if you haven't read the original story - American Girl, since there will be many references to the previous story, so I highly recommend reading it first.**

**I was overwhelmed by the number of people who reviewed the last chapter of American Girl, put me on author alert or as one of the favorite authors, so this new chapter is for all of you! Enjoy. I hope to have a new chapter out ASAP.**

**BPOV**

Four years. Four unbelievably long yet fulfilling years I had been at Columbia and in love with Edward Cullen. We had lived together in a small flat in Manhattan for two of those years and even though we had our ups and downs, it had been relatively perfect. We had a small one bedroom apartment that his parents bought and even though I had insisted that we pay rent, they had refused outright, claiming that the relationships they had fostered with their kids in the past few years was priceless and would never had happened if I hadn't come into Edward's life. I couldn't fight with them about it, even though I tried almost every time we got together with his parents.

"Bella, you didn't pack any of your books," yelled Edward from the living room as I tried to shove the last of my clothes into my suitcase. Edward and I were heading to Boston for the weekend to see his family and spend some time together before graduation the following weekend. Edward's graduation was on a Thursday afternoon and mine was on the Friday morning, so both of our families were going to both ceremonies.

"I don't need books for five days away Edward," I said with a sigh as I reached for a dress in my closet and casually slipped it into my bag, unsure of whether I would need it or not. With the Cullen's I always learned to expect the unexpected. Edward was already packed, which surprised the hell out of me. We should have left almost an hour ago but thanks to an impromptu romp in the shower, we were delayed but neither of us was complaining.

"I think my mother might kill us if we don't get going Bella," he called again as I closed my bag and stepped into our small living room.

"Calm down Edward. We're only forty five minutes late and if you hadn't been so hell bent on shower sex this morning, we'd be on the road already. Now we're going to be stuck in traffic for an hour just getting out of the city," I groaned as he pretended to hang his head in shame, instead opting to smack my ass as I walked by.

"Did you not enjoy this morning?" he asked as I rubbed my behind gently for a moment before turning on the timer for the thermostat before we left. Even though I wasn't paying the damned bills, I wasn't about to run them up either. Edward dragged both of our bags down to the elevator as I locked the door behind us and followed him down the hallway. When we finally pulled out of traffic and onto the 1-95, I messed with Edward's iPod until it was on a mix that he had made after our first trip to Europe and I stared out the window, remembering all the things that had changed in the past four years.

Edward had tried to convince me to move in with him before our second year, but my parents were completely against it. I was 21 when third year came around and they finally agreed, without too much begging on my part and that was when we got our apartment where we currently still live. It's a small place, but it works well enough for the two of us with one bedroom, one bathroom, a decent kitchen and our own laundry room right in the apartment, which was a miracle in New York City. We spent almost two months looking for the perfect place that was in between both of our schools, and when we did Esme and Carlisle bought it on the spot, sight unseen, which was a bit unsettling for me, but I guess they didn't care.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Edward as we headed down the highway in his Volvo. I realized we had been driving for almost thirty minutes in complete silence, which was rare for us.

"I'm just thinking about the last four years. Who would have thought when I got harassed on a plane by some kid from Boston that we would be here four years later?" I said with a giggle as he reached his hand across the console to hold mine tightly in his.

"Well, I hoped…" he said with a laugh as I smacked him softly on the arm and I glanced out the window again. "I was really just taking pity on you Bella. I felt bad that you had to sit beside the Kool-Aid mascot."

"Seriously Edward, when you met my parents for our first Thanksgiving, did you ever think my mother would love you as much as she does now?" I asked as he shrugged his shoulders and changed lanes flawlessly. Something I didn't know much about Edward in the early days of our relationship was that he was a speed demon in his car, but always safe. The first trip we took to Boston in his car, I gripped the shit handle above the door the entire time, my life flashing before my eyes, but I eventually got used to it.

"Well, no, but you can thank Alice for that one. If it hadn't been for the tickets that Alice scored through Tyson for the Journey concert in Seattle, I never would have won her over. Who knew Journey was such a big draw in the Northwest," he laughed as the song on the iPod changed to 'American Girl' by Tom Petty. "I still think of you whenever I hear this song."

"That's funny, because I still think of you whenever I heard Justin Timberlake," I said quietly as I reminded him of all the dancing we did in Europe to his music.

We ended up stopping for lunch outside of Hartford only after I complained to Edward about my grumbling stomach and small bladder. While we waited for our food, he called his mother to let her know that we were running behind a bit but would be there in the early afternoon. She seemed frustrated, probably because she had planned for us to be there at lunch, but he just sweet talked her like usual and blamed himself for being late.

"I guess she had a game of family Parcheesi set up and now she's pissed we'll miss it," said Edward with a laugh as the waitress brought over our drinks and I eagerly took a sip of my Diet Pepsi. "Don't drink it all in one sip or we'll be stopping in East Hartford for another bathroom break."

"Oh calm down. I think your mother actually planned for us to be there for lunch. When I talked to her on the phone last weekend she mentioned something about a barbecue, so I think your libido got in the way of her family lunch," I said with a grin as he simply nodded his head, his smile broad across his face.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat too," he said as he took a sip of his iced tea. While we were waiting on lunch to arrive, Edward got a cryptic call from Alice, which confused me as they seemed to talk in code.

"Yes Alice," he started out saying after he answered his phone.

"I know… It's been rented…fine then tell Jasper… no she doesn't know, now shut up." The conversation abruptly ended after that and unfortunately our lunch came and I never had a chance to discuss it further with Edward since I forgot about it once we were back in the car.

When we finally arrived at the Cullen house, I was not surprised to see every single car outside in the driveway, signaling that the entire Cullen family was home, including their spouses. When we walked in, Edward quickly ran our bags up to his room as I waited in the hallway, checking out some of the paintings that adorned the wall. I don't think I would ever get over the fact that an original Picasso hung in the foyer. We walked through the house, my eyes still glancing up at the various artworks on the walls and finally found the entire family sitting on the back patio, drinking heavily. My eyes quickly darted to the two empty bottles of Dom Perignon on the table.

"It's about fricking time you guys got here. Stop on the way for a quickie in the Volvo?" asked Emmett as I rolled my eyes at him but Edward whispered something quietly and he laughed heartily. I was officially mortified by their exchange as I went over to Esme and gave her a quick hug before Carlisle shook my hand gently.

"Not quite," I said stiffly as I took a seat beside them and Rosalie ran over from the lawn where she was talking to Alice to hug me firmly. Her arms were tight around my body and when she finally let go, she grasped my shoulders tightly in her abnormally strong hands.

"I never see you anymore Bella," she slurred drunkenly as I began to realize who had consumed most of the champagne. "You missed our announcement because you had to have sex in the Volvo."

"We did not have sex in the Volvo," I stammered as Rosalie sat down on my lap and Emmett laughed at her and my complete embarrassment.

"What announcement?" asked Edward as he grabbed a beer which Jasper had brought from the bar. The three guys stood beside each other, each of them looking as handsome as ever and I couldn't help but notice the bright, albeit drunken smile, covering Rosalie's face.

"I asked Rosalie to marry me," said Emmett as Edward looked at both of them in shock and then patted Emmett on the back before leaning in for a tentative hug. The Cullen boys sure had come a long way in four years, I laughed to myself as Rosalie started to bounce on my knee. She wasn't heavy by any means, but my knees were about to give out as Emmett noticed me straining and quickly picked her off of me.

"Thanks Emmett," I said quickly as he set Rosalie in a chair beside me.

"You will be my maid of honor, right Bella?" she shrieked in my ear as I simply nodded, hoping to get her to stop the noise that was coming from her mouth. "That is wonderful. We have all summer to plan it. We want a Christmas Wedding."

"I never said I wanted a Christmas Wedding. Think of all the football games I'll miss because of wedding rehearsals and shit like that," huffed Emmett as Rosalie jumped off the chair, her hands on her hips like she was Wonder Woman or something. She stared at Emmett angrily and everyone knew he wasn't going to win this fight. "Christmas it is," he said with a grin as we all laughed at him. I think I was the most surprised by how pussy whipped he was by Rosalie, but I had only seen it firsthand a few times, whereas everyone else has seen it for almost ten years.

"A Christmas Wedding sounds perfect, doesn't it Carlisle?" said Esme excitedly as she turned back towards her husband, who was currently pounding back a shot of rum and smiled.

"Christmas is perfect. That's enough time for me to drain my 401k to pay for this thing," he said with a laugh as I smiled nervously. I never felt comfortable talking about money around the Cullen's, because I always pictured Esme and Carlisle sleeping on a big bed of money at night, which once he had finished laughing about, Edward assured me was not the case. When I glanced up at Edward, he looked a bit anxious and I couldn't understand why.

"Um, you don't have all summer to plan it, Bella and I have plans," said Edward firmly as Alice came up behind him and whispered into his ear and I didn't catch what was said.

"We do?" I asked curiously as they both smiled at me and then Jasper turned towards Alice, his arms wrapping firmly around her immediately as he rested his head on her shoulder and began to finger the ends of her short black hair.

"Remember last summer you told me there was something you wanted to do before the real world came around?" asked Edward as he looked at me expectantly. There was a bunch of things I had wanted to do, but none of them should have been spoken in the same room as his parents, I thought to myself. Edward raised his eye brow at me curiously and finally broke the silence. "You wanted to do a road trip Bella."

"Oh yeah," I said with a giggle as I remembered lying in bed with Edward post-coital one night and telling him I always wanted to drive across the U.S. "We're doing that?"

"Why not? Alice and Jasper want to join us for a few weeks, so we've rented a big SUV and we're going to travel for two months, finishing up in New York in early August with enough time for you to help Rosalie with the wedding and for us to start our new jobs?" said Edward confidently as I looked between him, Alice and Jasper enthusiastically.

"We can head up to Forks and I can finally meet your parents," laughed Alice as Jasper nuzzled into her neck.

"I, however, want to see all the two story outhouses that America has to offer," said Jasper with a serious tone to his voice as everyone else laughed at the randomness of his suggestion.

"So, are you game Bella?" asked Edward nervously as I simply shook my head.

"Yeah, I'm game. I'll bring my laptop and Rosalie can email me all the details for the wedding," I said with a smile as Edward stood behind me and began to rub my shoulders. "Not that Rosie will remember this conversation tomorrow morning." I looked beside me and Rosalie was slumped over slightly in her chair, passed out. Jasper offered to draw on her face in magic marker, but Esme and Carlisle freaked out at the thought of it.

As the night wound down, I climbed into bed with Edward after getting changed into some comfy shorts and a tank top. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked curiously as he pulled me into his arms and buried his head in my neck, greedily breathing in my scent.

"Of course. It would be fun, we can see all the random crap that America has to offer, like two-storey outhouses and pumpkin silos," I said with a laugh. "I think we should focus on seeing weird America."

"So, we're staying at the Cullen house for the summer?" asked Edward with a grin as I kissed his cheek gently and curled back into his arms.

**EPOV**

When Bella mentioned the concept of a road trip across the states a few months ago, I didn't think anything of it. It sounded like fun, but not something I really wanted to do during the summer before I took that big leap into the real world. I had been contemplating proposing to Bella since the first day I met her, but now that we lived together and were moving forward with our lives, I had decided to do it soon. I even had the ring all picked out and it was sitting comfortably in the back of my underwear drawer.

One night back in New York, I made an offhand remark to Jasper about the road trip and he starting plotting and planning immediately. He and Alice were both off for the summer, but she still had a semester left of classes and he was now working towards his Masters, so they were staying in school when September rolled around. "I think it's a great idea and I think Alice and I should join you," he said sincerely as I rolled my eyes at him. I hadn't even taken the idea seriously until he started to go into details of renting a car, traveling through the states and seeing all the sights. "When will you ever get a chance to do this again? It's like traveling through Europe without the trains."

"The train was one of the best parts," I said with a wink as Jasper groaned at the image of Bella and I doing it on a train.

"Okay, well if sex is all that is on your mind Edward, think of all the places you can do it on a road trip. A tent, a creepy hotel a la Psycho, you can sneak away from a tour of Colonel Sander's house and do it on his bed or something equally obtuse," laughed Jasper as I smiled easily at him for a moment. "And it would be a family bonding experience if Alice and I came with you for a month or so."

"You guys want to join us?" I said incredulously as he nodded his head eagerly.

"Talk to Alice about it and then we'll discuss it again," I said quickly as he patted me on the back and took a sip of his beer. We never talked about it again until late April when he mentioned that Alice was in on the road trip and now we just needed to convince Bella. Alice was so excited about everything, she planned out which states we would hit first, what cities to stay in and she had Carlisle rent us a vehicle since we were all considered underage for car rental companies.

Now, as I lay beside Bella in my childhood bed discussing the trip, I had a few reservations about everything. "Alice has already planned everything, well not everything, but close enough. She knows what cities she wants to head to, but we have nothing planned in each one. Her and Jasper picked up two tents and some sleeping bags, but those are only for emergencies since Alice insists that sleeping in a tent is a last resort for her," I said with a laugh as Bella kissed my chest while she ran her hands down to my stomach.

"Where are we starting from?" she asked curiously as I let out a deep breath and pulled her hands away from me for a moment.

"New York. I think they want to leave a few days after graduation next week," I answered sleepily as Bella reached her hand down and grazed it against my hardness gently. "Don't start something you can't finish Bella," I chastised as she pulled her hand away and frowned at me. In all the times we had visited my parents place, we had never once had sex in my old childhood bed. Bella seemed to have some sort of aversion against it, because we never did it at her parents' house either, not that I wanted to since her father slept only fifty feet away, with a gun in his nightstand.

"That's fine," said Bella as she rolled over, her back resting against my chest and pulled the pillow closer to her.

"What's wrong? I asked as I snaked my hand around her waist and clung to her tightly. There seemed to be a definite change in her the moment I mentioned graduation.

"I can't believe it's almost over. Four years of school and now we're going into the real world of stupid co-workers and nasty bosses, although Carmen seems like she'll be a great boss, but you know what I mean. It's all a little bittersweet," she replied as I rested my head on her shoulder and kissed her neck gingerly.

"That phase is almost over. Think of all the awesome things we can look forward to. There will be weddings, houses, babies, reunions and all the other major milestones that people celebrate. Don't you want to have those too?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, although I can't believe Rose and Emmett are already engaged. Can you believe it?" she inquired as I noticed her voice sounding sleepy.

"Emmett's wanted to propose to her since the first night they had sex back in junior year. Apparently she does some trick with her tongue that Emmett thought was marriage material, even back then," I said with a laugh as I heard Bella chuckle beneath me. "So, I knew they would get engaged early. I actually thought it would be sooner, but I think my parents talked him into waiting until she graduated."

Emmett had graduated a year ago, with honors, which surprised everyone because he seemed to spend most of his time fondling his girlfriend, his Xbox or himself. Apparently he was some sort of wunderkind because he ended up getting a job down on Wall Street fairly early in the interview process and was already making headway within the company.

We talked about Emmett and Rosalie's upcoming wedding for a little bit more before Bella ended up falling asleep with me running my hands through her hair casually. I loved to watch her sleep, although I still don't think she knew how much I did it. Any chance I got to fall asleep after her I took because I loved to listen to her breathing and the random words that she would say. When Bella was truly content in her sleep, she would talk and say the most asinine things. During our third year, after a particular hardcore session, Bella practically passed out before I could even pull out and it was only minutes later that she mumbled something about watermelons that made me laugh so hard, I had to step into our bathroom to calm myself.

Tonight however, there were no words. Instead, she was tossing and turning a bit more than usual and I simply ran my fingers down her arm and tried my best to make her relax. When I finally noticed that she seemed calm again, I let sleep overtake me.

The next morning, we awoke to Alice yelling about something in the hallway and when I stepped outside, she was gone. "What the fuck was that?" asked Bella as she sat up in bed slowly and began to stretch, her hands above her head and her breasts jutted outwards. I drooled for a moment and shook my head to bring me back to reality.

"I have no idea. She was gone when I stepped outside," I replied as I tossed on a t-shirt and some track pants. Bella hopped out of bed looking as sexy as ever in a tank top and a pair of sleep shorts and we wandered down to the kitchen to grab some coffee. The clock on the mantel said it was already eight thirty in the morning. So much for sleeping in, I thought to myself as I led Bella into the kitchen where Rosalie was propped up on a barstool with a container of Advil and two big empty bottles of water in front of her.

"Do you even remember getting engaged yesterday?" Bella asked with a laugh as she walked around and gave Rosalie a big hug.

"Yes, I remember that smart ass. I even remember Jasper talking about drawing on me, so remind me to kick the shit out of him later, okay?" strained Rosalie as I poured Bella and I our cups of coffee. "Have you guys seen Alice yet?"

"No, but we heard her," I replied coolly as I handed Bella the creamer and sugar. Rosalie's hands gripped her head tightly as she fought the effects of her hangover. Alice bounced into the room mere seconds later, looking like she had been awake for hours and knowing Alice, she probably had.

"Alice, can you shut the hell up for five minutes," asked Rosalie as she laid her arms across the counter and buried her head into them.

"I haven't even said anything yet," sighed Alice as she looked up at Bella and me excitedly. "I've made some additional arrangements for our trip," she said and I immediately cringed at prospect of what she may have done.

"What did you plan?" asked Bella curiously as she took a large gulp of her hot coffee. Bella was back behind Rosalie and rubbing her head gently, trying to ease the pain of the hangover as Alice bounced again with excitement.

"Well I got us some tickets for the Seurat Retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago. It's going on at the same time as the Taste of Chicago, so I also booked us two rooms at the Hotel Allegro downtown," she said happily. Bella's eyes instantly lit up at the mention of the Seurat show, but it was Emmett's reaction I hadn't been expecting. He had walked into the room a few minutes after Alice and was listening intently to our plans.

"Aw man, I heard the Taste of Chicago was excellent, Rosie, we should so join them," shouted Emmett enthusiastically as Rosalie jumped up from her stool and smacked him on the arm forcefully. "Sorry baby, I forgot about the hangover," he added sweetly as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"We can go, but only for a few days," sighed Rosalie as Emmett bounced with excitement at the thought of eating his weight in food. "Alice, can you book us a room too?" Alice simply nodded her head and reached for her cell phone that was resting on the counter.

"Oh, what were you yelling about before, outside of my bedroom," I asked curiously as Bella came around the counter and wrapped her arm around my waist while she continued to sip on her coffee.

"I was talking to the manager at the State Room. He said that the day that Rosalie and Emmett picked for the wedding was impossible to accomplish in such a short time. I only had to mention the name Cullen and suddenly it was available and everything would be done. Assholes," grimaced Alice as Rosalie gave her a big hug and I simply ignored the rest of the conversation which surrounded the wedding. The girls all stepped into the sunroom and were blabbering on about bridesmaid dresses as Jasper finally walked into the room, having apparently just woken up.

"What's going on?" he asked as he pointed to the girls in the other room.

"Wedding shit," sighed Emmett as I heard Jasper groan.

"Alice has repeatedly dropped hints about the possibility of a proposal from me," explained Jasper as he fixed himself a cup of coffee and we all leaned against the counter and watched our women. "What about you? Any pressure from Bella."

"Nope. We've discussed it and we know it will happen one day, but she's not pressuring me. I'm pressuring myself if anything," I said reluctantly as I looked out at Bella smiling happily in the sun room after Alice said something funny. Rosalie was no longer gripping her head, but still looked a bit pained as they spoke.

"If you want to ask her then ask her," suggested Jasper as I felt him pat my back supportively. "She loves you man and it's not like you don't have the ring already."

"You already have a ring?" asked Emmett incredulously as I simply nodded my head. "What are you waiting for?"

_What am I waiting for?_

**A/N: Anyone know any two storey outhouses in the US?**


	2. New York to the Rest of Their Lives

**A/N: I want to thank everyone for the reviews and alerts that have flooded me in the past twenty four hours. I know for some authors 230 alerts and 61 reviews on one chapter is nothing, but for me it's major, so I thank each and every one of you. I would do it personally, but the MTV Movie Awards are on soon and I'm preparing for some Rob drooling time.**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thank my beta maggiemay14 for helping to make it excellent!**

**I don't own Twilight, I do own travelward, who I picture as Rob Pattinson in the Italy set photos with his hot six pack, deep v on his hips and carrying a big ass backpack.**

**Any questions? No… then let's move onto graduation shall we?**

**BPOV**

My father sat beside me beaming with excitement as he sat in the seats of Yankee Stadium. He was a diehard Mariners fan, but I think for any baseball fan it was important to be within the hallowed halls of Yankee Stadium, even the new version which opened recently. Carlisle had even managed to get some tickets, behind the dugout, for the game on Saturday between New York and Boston, so Charlie was on the edge of his seat at the prospect of coming back for an actual baseball game with Carlisle, Edward, Jasper and Emmett. I think Esme had some big shopping excursion planned for the women as the boys were at the game and I had been thinking of ways to get out of it since it was first mentioned.

Today, however, we were sitting in the stadium listening to various speeches as part of NYU's commencement. Edward was seated somewhere on the field with everyone else who was graduating and his family members seemed to take up an entire row on the left side of the stadium. Esme and Renee sat near the end of the aisle and chatted happily about Emmett's upcoming wedding and other things I couldn't hear because I was almost down at the complete other end of the row. Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and I were all bunched up away from our parents, who seemed to get along like old friends even though this week was the first time they had met. Charlie, of course, had an inane ability to get along with everyone, which probably made his job as a cop easier. Beside Alice was Jasper's family who were staying in New York for only the day due to previous commitments. They seemed nice enough, although a little bit like Esme and Carlisle when I originally met them four years ago.

It wasn't long before the main commencement speech by the Secretary of State was finally over and they began calling the students forward to the stage to receive their diplomas. Random cheers would come from various locations in the stadium once a student was called. Emmett had gone all out with the baseball theme and had created us each a sign, so when Edward crossed the stage and they said 'Edward Cullen' we all cheered as loudly as possible and each of us, including Charlie and Carlisle, held up a letter to spell out 'C-U-L-L-E-N', which Esme and Rene both scoffed at thinking we were behaving stupidly, though the rest of us all laughed happily.

"This has been such a long day," sighed Emmett when we finally sat back down and began listening to the named again, this time waiting to hear them say 'Whitlock' for Jasper.

"It will be just as long tomorrow when we sit through Bella and Rose's ceremony," pointed out Alice as Emmett ran his hands through his hair in frustration, just like Edward does. "I'm glad graduation isn't as formal at Parsons."

"We had to do it for you last year Emmett," I sighed as I watched the ceremony intently, dreading my own the next day. When it was almost time for Jasper to take the stage, we traded our signs for the other ones Emmett had made and prepared to hold them up. The moment he crossed the stage, Alice yelled out that she loved him as the rest of us hooted and hollered and held up the new signs that said 'WH-IT-LO-CK.' Charlie and Carlisle were left out of this one, which made them, and their wives, happy. Jasper's parents didn't seem to enjoy the spectacle we were making and I wondered how someone as free-spirited as Jasper was their son.

Once everything was concluded, we went down to the parking lot to meet Edward, who was still dressed in his cap and gown and looking as sexy as ever. "Do you get the keep the gown?" I asked with a snicker as I wrapped my hand tightly in his and Esme took a quick picture of the two of us together.

"Sorry sweetie, it's a rental, but I will keep the cap on later," remarked Edward as he winked at me and began to pull the gown from him.

"Keep it on for a few more photos?" asked Esme as she and Renee moved in front of us and wanted a few more formal poses. Pretty soon, we were all done, having taken photos of Edward with his family and Edward with my family, and one of all of us together taken by one of Edward's professors who happened to be walking by at the time. I looked over and noticed Alice and Jasper hugging awkwardly as his parents stood nearby, awaiting the chance to take a few photos of Jasper, including one of him and Edward together.

It was mid afternoon by the time we stepped to the various cars we had brought with us and the parking lot was almost deserted. "We have dinner reservations at seven, so why don't we meet at the restaurant once everyone has had a chance to relax a bit?" suggested Carlisle as he opened the car door for Esme. Charlie and Renee were staying at the same hotel as Edward's parents, so they were always carpooling and eating together in an effort to get to know each better. Everyone agreed to the arrangements and Edward and I headed back to our apartment in his car, eager for a little alone time.

"My ass hurts from sitting all day," I complained when we finally got into the apartment and I sat down on the couch, pulling my feet up onto the coffee table and rubbing them lightly.

"One down, one to go," sighed Edward as he plopped down beside me and wrapped his arm around me casually. "How did everything go up in the nosebleed section?"

"It was fine. Emmett, Rose and the moms talked about wedding details. Carlisle and Charlie discussed politics and I tried to throw myself off of the railing using one of Alice's scarves to hang myself," I said with a giggle as Edward kissed my temple.

"I'm glad our parents are getting along so well, it will certainly make life easier down the road when we're married with babies," said Edward casually as my hand stopped where it had been rubbing his thigh.

"Let's not jump the gun honey. I'd still say yes if you proposed, just like I said three and a half years ago, but I'm not ready for that stumble down the aisle just yet," I said nervously as he simply nodded his head in agreement.

"I know Bella. We want to get our careers off the ground first before we get married. I've heard you mention that before," said Edward as he sounded a bit dejected. I was about to say something else about the topic, but since I wasn't quite ready for a fight this afternoon, I simply nuzzled my head against his shoulder and rested before we had to get up to get dressed for dinner.

We ended up at an Italian restaurant near midtown for dinner, which Edward's parents were investors in. It wasn't the same restaurant we had gone to when we had first gotten back together all those years ago, but it was a lot nicer and clearly more expensive. Charlie and Renee were already there with Carlisle and Esme when Edward and I finally arrived. We had ordered drinks and were waiting for our four other friends to get there when Renee started mentioning Edward and I getting married.

"A while ago, I would have been completely against a wedding between them, but I know that they are mature adults and can make their own decisions," sighed Renee as she looked over at me, expecting me to say something.

"We're not engaged mom, so don't hurry to plan some big Forks wedding where we end up holding our reception in the Elks Club Hall," I said in frustration.

"The Elks Club?" asked Edward as he raised an eye brow curiously. "Is that like the Water buffalos on the Flintstones or the Stonecutters on the Simpsons?" I was about to respond with some equally sarcastic comment, but I was interrupted by Esme who was responding to my earlier snide comment.

"Oh no, they would have some lavish event in Boston just like Emmett and Rose," added Esme as I shuddered at the mere thought of a wedding on par with theirs. Nothing about Emmett and Rosalie's wedding would be normal. He ended up proposing to her at the top of the Empire State Building a few weeks before they announced their engagement, which was rather fitting for them. Apparently, it was all pretty ostentatious as he rented out the observation deck and had rose petals scattered everywhere. They even had dinner catered by Le Cirque, as they ate out on the deck after she accepted.

"Shouldn't the bride and groom decide on the location?" asked my mother as she glared at Esme, expecting her to back down, but she didn't.

"Of course they should. However, based on the fact that the Cullen's' are a much larger family, it may make more sense to have the wedding in Boston," snarked Esme as Edward and I began glaring at each other.

"No one is getting married," Edward snapped before both women stared at him angrily. Edward and I sat in silence for the next little while as our mother's bickered about our nonexistent wedding and I felt his hand slip into mine and he looked over at me remorsefully. Thankfully, before they started arguing about the timing of future babies, the rest of our friends arrived, taking all of the attention off of Edward and me.

"So what's going on" asked Emmett as he sat down beside me and noticed the look of mortification on my face. "You guys aren't pressuring Bella for babies are you?" he asked with a chuckle as Alice joined in the laughter.

"No, we would never do that," sighed Esme as she looked a bit remorseful at the turn the conversation had taken. "Anyways, you and Rosalie are the first to be pressured seeing as your wedding is only seven months away." Emmett shuddered beside me and I patted his back in understanding.

"Welcome to the lion's den," I replied sarcastically.

The rest of the dinner went fairly easy with everyone casually discussing the wedding or the graduation ceremony. Esme couldn't stop gushing about Edward graduating from NYU and Emmett working on Wall Street. I could tell my parents were a little overwhelmed by Esme, but they did their best to be calm and relaxed around her, unless they were arguing about my pretend wedding.

Jasper, Edward and I discussed some of our road trip plans with Charlie, who was excited to hear we would be stopping in Forks for a few days during the trip. Before any of us realized it, dinner had finished and we were all going our separate ways, agreeing to meet up at Columbia in the morning for mine and Rosalie's graduation ceremony.

When I woke up the next morning, my head was aching from the wine I had with dinner and Edward showed up with a bottle of Advil and some water for me. "You always know what I need," I said as I quickly took the pill and swallowed it down with some water.

"After four years together, I think I can manage to figure out when you will have a hangover," laughed Edward as he stepped out of our bedroom and towards the kitchen. "I'm sorry mom went a little overboard last night with the wedding and baby talk," he called from the kitchen as I heard him start our coffee pot.

"It's fine. She's just excited about everything with Rosalie and Emmett," I sighed as I glanced down at the clock and noticed it was already seven. I only had two hours to shower, get dressed and get down to the south lawn of campus for the commencement ceremony.

"It's not fine Bella. I knew you were getting tense about it. I'll talk to them today and tell them to cool it with the marriage and baby talk okay?" asked Edward as he stood against our bedroom door and looked down at me as I crawled out of bed. I simply nodded my head and kissed him lightly as I stepped into the bathroom to take my shower.

I was almost late, but thankfully Rosalie was even further behind than I was when we showed up at the south lawn in our caps and gowns. "Esme and Carlisle can be a bit relentless huh?" she said with a grin as she hugged me and noticed my awkward demeanor.

"My mother is just as bad though. I mean, I'm twenty two and not nearly as ready as you and Emmett are for your future. I just wish they would calm down a bit," I said nervously as a small woman in a beige suit separated us by name and guided us into our rows.

When I was finally seated, I looked around behind me and tried to find my family to no avail. I was beyond nervous, but it wasn't because of graduation. It was because my family seemed to be pushing my life forward before I was ready.

**EPOV**

Bella's graduation ceremony was almost as unbearably boring as my own. We had Hilary Clinton speaking, and Bella had Michael Bloomberg. I kind of wished we had been as lucky as Tulane and ended up with someone funny like Ellen DeGeneres. After his speech, I was starting to get tired of the same old 'this is the start of the rest of your life' crap that the speakers had given us.

Jasper, Emmett and I chatted throughout most of the ceremony as our parents continued to discuss various topics, this time ranging from a comparison of the Seahawks and the Patriots, which left me wondering how my father knew anything about football, to a rousing discussion on the economy which Jasper got a little too involved in. Emmett had brought back his signs from yesterday, insisting that he didn't care we were no longer in a baseball stadium. He was seated beside Rosalie's parents, who ended up arriving a bit late and had trouble finding us. Thankfully Emmett had saved them two extra seats in our row.

"It's only fair that I do it for them, since you and Jasper got them yesterday," commented Emmett as he handed me my letters for the sign. I shrugged my shoulders and sat back to wait for Rosalie's name to get called. Emmett was standing on his chair cheering when she got on the stage and then jumped back down to the ground, hollering her name excitedly as he held up the same 'C-U-L-L-E-N' sign he has used for me yesterday. We all laughed as Rosalie waved excitedly from the stage.

"What?" questioned Emmett as our mother looked over at him in disappointment. "She'll be a Cullen soon enough."

We sat back down and ignored the rest of the names until they got to the S's and then I stood, trying to get a better look at the graduates. I had to admit, I liked the concept of having graduation at Yankee Stadium better because you could see everything. We were on the same level as the graduates, so it tended to be a little bit difficult to find the love of your life in a crowd.

Suddenly, I heard them call out 'Isabella Swan' and I pulled an Emmett and jumped up on the chair to get a better look, no doubt pissing off the people behind me. I was a little shocked though when Emmett and the rest of our group pulled out the same sign they had used for me and Rosalie that said Cullen on it. I glared at Emmett and smacked him upside the head when I stepped down from the chair.

"What?" he questioned again in frustration.

"Dude, she's not a Cullen," I replied angrily as I surprisingly heard my mother call out from a few seats beside me.

"She will be one day Edward, we all know this, so stop overreacting," she said as I watched her slip her flask back into her purse. No wonder she was in such a good mood, Johnnie Walker was making an appearance. I sat down in my chair, knowing Bella would probably be yelling at me later for this.

"I'll tell Bella it was my fault, so stop pouting," laughed Emmett. "You shouldn't be acting like such a grouch. You already have her fucking ring."

"Watch your mouth Emmett," sighed Charlie as I suddenly saw his eyes grow wide. "You what?" Oh great, this was exactly the moment I thought of asking Charlie for Bella's hand in marriage, at her commencement as I argued with Emmett.

"I bought her a ring. I haven't asked her yet though Charlie. I hope you know I would ask your permission before I asked Bella," I said nervously as he reached over and awkwardly patted me on the back.

"You don't need to ask me Edward. You've been a member of this family since she brought you home almost four years ago, so don't worry. You have my permission," he replied casually as I dropped open my mouth in shock.

"Thanks," I muttered in surprise as I sat back on the chair, my eyes facing up to the sky. Charlie had given me permission to marry Bella and I hadn't even had to ask for it like I had dreaded about for weeks. Not that I expected him to say no, I just wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't expect a pat on the back mere moments after his daughter received her diploma though. I was so lost in my thoughts about my eventual engagement to Bella, I hadn't even noticed that the ceremony had ended and they were shuffling all the guests out of their seats.

"Come on man, get up," yelled Emmett as he kicked my chair and I tumbled sideways for a moment.

We walked in silence towards a large tree that we had agreed to meet Bella and Rosalie at. She thought it would be perfect to get photos taken there, and once we arrived, I had to agree completely. I gave her a big hug and twirled around with her in my arms for a moment as I kissed her passionately, not really caring if anyone in our family saw. "Oh, break it up," called out Charlie as I grinned at him nervously. Esme and Renee made us pose for a ton of photos, which again ended up including our entire family. One of Bella's classmates took a complete photo of our group and Renee blabbered on about how excited she was to get the photos back from her Walmart Photo Center so that she could frame them and hang them on the wall. Before we finished, Rosalie's parents took a few photos of Emmett and Rose together, as well as Rose and Bella together, with Rosalie shouting instructions at them the entire time.

Thankfully, we had no formal dinner to go to tonight. Last night had been the celebratory dinner for all four of us who graduating this year and I was eager to get home and changed out of the stuffy clothes I had been wearing for the past two days. "Finally," I muttered when we stepped into our apartment and I yanked my shoes off, tossing them towards the kitchen, not really caring where they ended up. I prayed I would never have to wear my dress shoes anytime in the near future.

I wandered into our bedroom and threw myself on the bed, not noticing where Bella had gone to and eager to forget some of the conversations from earlier in the day. "Why are you in here?" I heard her call from the doorway as she slipped out of her shoes and pulled her hair back into a ponytail using an elastic from the top of our dresser.

"I'm resting," I said succinctly as I felt the bed move and she was suddenly straddling me, her satin covered panties rubbing against me. I was caught completely off guard and I closed my eyes for a few moments as I let the feeling of Bella against me sink in and I looked up to see her skirt wrapped around her waist.

"If you want to have a nap or something, I can go," she said sexily as I reached up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down onto me, her lips crashing against mine eagerly.

"No. I don't need a nap," I said forcefully as I snaked my tongue out of my mouth and along her bottom lip.

"I just thought we could indulge in a little 'end of school' sex," said Bella with a grin as she leaned back from me, grabbed onto the headboard and ground herself down on my hard on again, leaving me whimpering. I watched intently as Bella peeled her shirt up and over her head, leaving her in a simple black satin bra that matched her panties. I licked my lips in excitement and just as my hands reached up and were cupping her breasts, our damned phone rang.

"Don't fucking touch that phone," I yelled out as I sat up a bit and pulled her bra straps down forcefully. I was just about to start sucking on her exposed nipples when I heard her mother's voice on our answering machine, instantly making me soft.

"Bella, Edward… its mom. Call me. Your dad and I wanted to go out for dinner with you tonight since your dad and Edward will be busy tomorrow night with the baseball game. Ok, call the hotel. We're in room 412. I love you guys," said Renee as we heard the machine beep, signaling the end of her call. Bella laid her head against my chest and sighed.

"We should go see them," she said reluctantly as I glanced down at the clock. It was only four in the afternoon; we definitely had plenty of time to continue this.

"We can go see them. Go call them and tell them to make reservations at the restaurant at their hotel at seven, then get naked and get your ass back in here," I instructed Bella as she hopped off of the bed and stepped towards the living room, where she had written the phone number to the hotel down on a pad of paper beside the phone. I got instantly hard as I noticed some of Bella's clothes get thrown back into the bedroom as I heard her talking on the phone. First I saw her skirt, then her bra and finally her panties and I hopped off of the bed and began undressing myself as well. When she finally came back into the room a few minutes later, I was ready and waiting for her.

"Do you know how odd it is to talk to your own mother while you're completely naked and desperate to fuck your boyfriend?" asked Bella as she climbed back onto our oversized bed and kissed my lips, her hands wrapped instantly around my hard on.

"Do you know how odd it is to listen to your girlfriend talk to her mother when you're naked and want to fuck her?" I asked in reply and she simply shook her head from side to side before engulfing my cock in her mouth. "It's… oh yeah… it's so good," I moaned again as Bella's lips tightened around my shaft and she began to move up and down, licking my entire shaft eagerly.

I lay still, enjoying the vision of Bella pleasuring me, but my mind was still working a mile a minute as I contemplated proposing to her. I knew she would never like something as lavish as what Emmett had done for Rosalie, but Rosalie was more about the grand gestures. "Holy shit," I called out as I felt Bella's teeth scrap the underside of my dick while her hand cupped my balls gently. Before I could compose myself, I shivered slightly and then moaned her name loudly as I came inside her mouth, with Bella swallowing everything greedily. As she sat back on her knees, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest, kissing her enthusiastically.

"I love you," she muttered in between kisses as my hands began to massage her breasts, her nipples hardening under my touch.

"I love you more," I replied with a laugh as I rolled her over onto her back and started to kiss my way down her chest to her belly button.

"How can you say that you love me more Edward," sighed Bella as I moved myself between her thighs and gently ran my finger up her wet slit. "See, that should show you how much I love you."

"That shows you're horny as hell for me, it doesn't show you love me Bella," I mumbled as I began to kiss her inner thighs, breathing in the sweet scent of her arousal. "I love you more because I can put up with your crazy family."

"My family is not as crazy as yours. Your mother was drinking from a flask yesterday at your graduation," she replied as I leaned forward and began licking her clit furiously. "Oh hell yeah," she moaned out again suddenly forgetting the conversation we were just having. My tongue ran circles around her hard nub as I slid a finger inside of her hot cunt, eliciting another moan of pleasure from her.

"Who loves who more?" I asked again as I slipped another finger inside of her, causing her to rock her hips forward.

"I love…. oh fuck me," she screamed as I sat up for a moment and smiled down at her.

"If you insist," I said with a grin as I grabbed her hips and thrust deep inside of her, causing her to grip the bed and scream my name out loudly.

"I love it when you scream for me," I reminded Bella. In the early days of our relationship, getting Bella to be more vocal hadn't been an issue, but lately she had calmed down slightly, which disappointed me. "Scream for me baby."

"Sweet Jesus," she yelled again as my finger found her clit and I flicked it gently for a moment before pounding back into her heat.

"What was that?" I asked as I leaned forward and whispered into her ear, while my cock thrust in and out of her quickly.

"Fuck me Edward," she yelled again, louder than previously, which excited me further. I could feel my cock twitch as she called out for me and I gripped her hips tighter and began to fuck her as hard as I could. It was mere minutes later that I felt Bella's body shudder and she screamed my name over and over again as she came, causing me to come and release deep inside of her. Sweat was dripping down my head and onto my chest and I noticed Bella smile up at me.

"See, I love you more," I told her as I leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. I pulled back and fell onto the bed beside Bella, my wide smile clear across my face. "We should go shower and get ready for dinner," I said reluctantly as I felt Bella cuddle close to my chest and kiss my neck sweetly.

"How do you love me more?" asked Bella as she spoke into my chest, causing another groan from me at the feel of her hot breath against my skin.

"Simple, I'm going out to dinner with gun toting Charlie and wedding crazy Renee, when I should be here fucking you in every single room of our apartment."

"So because you are refraining from sex you think it means that you love me more?" Bella said with a laugh as she jumped off the bed and started to walk towards the bathroom.

"You know how hard it is for me to resist you Bella, it's taking all my willpower not to come over there and have a repeat performance on the floor," I said seriously as Bella simply giggled and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "I'll prove to you I love you more," I called from the bed as I laid my head back down on the pillow and began to worry about the proposal again, for the twentieth time since Charlie gave me his blessing.


	3. New York to the Open Road

**A/N: Thank my uber-beta for getting this back to me so quickly today. Also thank my work PC for crapping out often because if that hadn't happened, this chapter would definitely not be ready today.**

**I know everyone is dying for a proposal, engagement, marriage etc… just be patient. I have A LOT planned for these two in the story. Alice and Jasper are really just along for the ride. No major drama with them. LOL**

**I don't own twilight, but I do have to say that every single location, no matter how utterly absurd it might be is completely legitimate. Everyone one of these places will exist.**

**BPOV**

"Bella, come and look at this, we are so going to this town," called Alice from the living room where she was staring at her laptop with a stupid grin on her face. I had been trying to pack since my parents left on Sunday and getting nowhere. "Bryant Pond, Maine. Apparently their Masonic Lodge has a three story outhouse. Jasper would shit, literally," she continued as we both laughed happily. Ever since Jasper had mentioned the outhouses, it had been Alice's mission to find as many as she could across the country. I was thankful that they were only with us for a few weeks of the trip because I wasn't sure I could handle seeing every variation of outhouse that American had to offer.

"Oh, look Ali, they also have the Worlds' largest telephone there too. Bryant Pond, we are so visiting you in a few days," I remarked eagerly as Alice immediately bookmarked the website. It was only a few moments later that Edward and Jasper stumbled into our apartment carrying a large cooler and a pair of brand new sleeping bags.

"Is that a Coleman?" asked Alice in frustration as she pointed at the cooler. "I was reading on a few camping websites that the best supplies you can get are by Coleman. They're like the Prada of camping," she said seriously as I doubled over in laughter.

"There's no such thing as the Prada of camping Alice. You will quickly learn that the first night we set up camp. I'm sure one of you has been camping before, right?" I asked of all of them as no one responded and I immediately knew I was in for a rough trip. "No? Well here's hoping we never need to camp then, and here's to Charlie and Renee for dragging me to the middle of nowhere in the summer to camp," I added with a nervous laugh. No one knew how to camp and I was now petrified because I knew if it came down to it, everything rested on my shoulders.

"What are you girls looking at?" asked Jasper as he tried to lean over Alice's laptop, but she shut it quickly.

"Nothing. Just looking up routes for us to take. I thought we could drive up to Fall River first. I've always wanted to see Lizzie Borden's house," said Alice morosely as we all sort of flinched at her suggestion. "Oh come on, it would be funny. We all know the poem, '_Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father 41.'_"

"Just cause we know the poem doesn't mean we want to visit a house where two people were murdered," I sighed as Jasper seconded my notion.

"Jasper is making us visit toilets across the country, so I want to visit Lizzie Borden's house. At least I'm not making you stay there because it's also a bed and breakfast," laughed Alice as we all finally relented. She continued to go on about staying somewhere on Cape Cod sound, which sounded fine to us, so as we started to go through the list I had made with camping supplies, Alice looked up hotels for us. "We're staying in East Falmouth. I've rented us a cabin for the night."

Alice was so excited to be working on all of the plans that I knew I would be disappointed when her and Jasper left us after a month of traveling. I understood her need to finish up her schooling, and his need to not be a third wheel when Alice headed back to school, but it was going to be fun travelling with them regardless.

"Okay, all the camping gear is accounted for," I stated happily as I headed back into our bedroom to finish packing my bags. Edward followed behind me and we both cringed as we could hear Jasper and Alice giggling in the living room. "You'll have to deal with it for a month, can you handle it sweetie?" I asked as Edward grabbed his duffle bag from the closet and began to load various clothes into it, not even really paying attention.

"I can handle it. I have you to help keep me calm," he said with a wicked glint in his eye. He leaned forward and began to rub his tongue smoothly along my neck, which made me groan in pleasure as we heard Alice call out for me from the living room.

"Good news Bella, it's only five hours from East Falmouth to Bryant Park," Alice said with a loud giggle as Edward looked at me in confusion.

"Don't ask, but let me just say, Jasper will like Maine."

Alice and Jasper left shortly after five while Edward and I managed to finish our packing and clean out the refrigerator. There was so much for us to do while we were away, and even though Rosalie and Emmett promised to check up on the apartment, we didn't feel the need to leave them with rotting food in the fridge. I ordered a pizza as Edward brought all of the perishables to the garbage chute down the hallway and I could hear the loud thump from our living room.

"Did you get a meat lovers? I know how much you love meat," Edward said cryptically as I looked up and him with one raised eye brow, clearly not getting some sort of joke.

"I hate meat lovers. You know all I like is pepperoni," I said firmly as he sat down on the couch beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist tightly. "Dinner should be here in thirty minutes."

"Good, that's more than enough time," he replied as I felt his hand grasp my breast gently and his mouth latched onto my neck. Edward's arms moved me under him, never once releasing me and I was suddenly lying beneath him on the couch. He was hovering above me, his mouth still firmly stuck to my neck, causing me to moan sweetly at the feel of his tongue on me. I was about to push him back from me and say something, but I felt his hands on either side of my face, and he was suddenly kissing me with more passion than I had felt in a long time. They were kisses reminiscent of our time back in Europe when we were first discovering each other, and I longed for it.

Just as I was about to speak again, he released his grip on my face and pulled back and I coughed lightly. "Are you getting sick?" he asked curiously as I shook my head.

"No, not that I know of," I said candidly as he sat back against the couch and put his hand on my forehead. "Do I feel sick, doctor?"

"You're a little warm, but it is bit hot in the apartment. I'll turn up the air." Edward was up and off the couch before I even had a chance to resist. "Stay on the couch and rest. I'll finish packing my bag and then I can help you with yours after dinner," he called sweetly from the laundry room, where he was grabbing the last load of laundry. "I don't want you to be sick for the trip."

I groaned involuntarily because in all honesty, I felt perfectly fine. However, since Edward refused to let me help for the time being, I reached for my newest issue of Entertainment Weekly with Eminem on the cover and started to read about his drug addiction and comeback album. Knowing Jasper, we would be listening to quite a bit of it in the car over the next month.

Dinner arrived just as Edward had finished with his bag and had brought it into the living room, where the pile of camping supplies sat. We ate in relative silence as we watched an episode of 'The Office' that we had on our TIVO. Edward would make a comment every so often about how stupid he found Michael to be, and I would simply laugh, because this is what he did every time we watched the show. Every single time I coughed, Edward would look over at me and then place his hand on my forehead to make sure I wasn't getting sick.

"Did you ever think that maybe my forehead is hot because you keep putting your hand on it?" I asked curiously as I placed my plate down on the coffee table, having finished my dinner.

"You hardly ate Bella. Usually you can pack away three pieces of pizza and tonight you ate one. I'm just looking out for you since we leave in the morning," said Edward, his voice filled with concern. Over the past four years I quickly discovered two things; when Edward is sick, he is a real pain in the ass and when I am sick he hovers over me until I'm better. I had strep throat during sophomore year and he never left my side once. Thankfully he didn't end up catching it from me, but regardless, he hovered the whole time, filling me full of antibiotics and juice.

"I'm fine. It's a cough, that's it," I said with a sigh as Edward jumped from the couch and headed into our bathroom to search the medicine cabinet for drugs. "Why don't you bring me some of that Tylenol Cold and Cough that is in the cupboard if it will make you feel better." Edward was back within seconds and I quickly took the medication, hoping to get him off my back. He finished his dinner as I curled up with him, my head on his lap.

It was almost eight o'clock when we finally got off the couch and I went to the bedroom to finish packing as Edward cleaned up from dinner. "I'm bringing our extra pizza in the cooler," he shouted from the kitchen as I shoved my bathing suit into the bag along with two sexy nighties that Alice and I had purchased a few weeks ago at La Perla.

"That's fine," I shouted back to him as I let out a longer and more painful cough. I pretended to hide it, but as per usual, Doctor Edward was in the bedroom to make sure I was okay within seconds. "Stop it. I know you're already thinking of postponing the trip for a day, but that's pointless. Jasper is picking up the rental at eight and he should be here before ten. Let's just finish packing and go to bed." Edward nodded his head reluctantly and went off to the kitchen to finish cleaning.

I took another dosage of medication before sliding into bed earlier than expected. Edward had rushed out to the store to grab a few last minute essentials as I felt my forehead; I knew I was getting sick. I was certain it was just a cold or the flu, but I wasn't going to let it hold me back from our road trip. Just as I was about to fall asleep the phone rang beside me and I immediately knew it was Alice. "Hi Alice," I said sleepily into the phone.

"Edward says you're sick."

"I'm not sick. It's a bit of a cough, nothing major," I said reluctantly as I heard her retell Jasper what I had said. "It's not going to change the trip. Instead of Edward driving the first shift, you and Jasper can do it while we snuggle in the back. It'll be fine Alice."

"Okay Bella, if you say so. Make sure you pack a lot of juice in the cooler and bring some meds. We're not taking you to an emergency room in a van in some podunk shithole town," said Alice, trying to be as supportive as she could.

"I'm not dying. I'm coughing."

"Yeah, that's how the plague started," said Edward as he walked into the room and looked at me, clearly upset.

"I'm gonna go now. You go hash it out with Edward and we'll see you in the morning," added Alice as she quickly hung up on me before I got the chance to wish her a good night.

"Get some rest Bella," said Edward as he sat beside me on the bed, the bag from the store still clutched firmly in his hand. "I picked up some cough drops and other meds for you. Better to have them on hand then drive around for an hour trying to find a pharmacy in New Hampshire somewhere." I nodded in agreement and pulled the pillow tightly to my head as I felt his arms snake around my waist. I was asleep within seconds.

**EPOV**

When I woke up the next morning, having not even changed out of my clothes from the day before, I immediately felt Bella's forehead and it was still warmer than it should be. I shimmied myself out of bed as I glanced at the clock, knowing full well that Jasper would be at our apartment within the hour. I had a quick shower and dressed as I looked at a sleeping Bella. I was reluctant to wake her, but I knew if I didn't, she would definitely be pissed at me.

"Babe, you got to wake up and shower. Jasper and Alice will be here in about half an hour," I said calmly as I shook her body lightly and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Morning," she said quietly, as I noticed her voice was hoarse in addition to the small fever she was running. I handed her the medicine she had been taking and a glass of water, and she swallowed everything down greedily before finally sitting up. "Shower time," she said tentatively as she hopped down from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.

"Leave the door unlocked," I called to her anxiously as I began to imagine her slipping in the tub and hitting her head. I was always a little too paranoid when it came to Bella's well being and it drove her nuts. I heard her grunt as she walked into the bathroom, but thankfully, there was no click of the lock once she had closed the door.

Jasper and Alice arrived sooner than expected and Bella was still in the shower. Alice waited patiently for her as I headed down to the rental with Jasper and began loading up all of the things we had in our dining room for the trip. By the time we had finished, Bella was out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of long jeans and a sweater. "Are you cold?" I asked nervously as she shook her head and I began to worry more than I probably should.

"She'll be fine Edward. Jasper can drive this morning and you and Bella can rest in the backseat," said Alice as she led Bella into the bathroom where she began to blow dry her hair and comb it out. Jasper and I sat in the living room and waited for them impatiently. Jasper was desperate to get on the road and I was trying not to worry so much about Bella. When they finally stepped out of the bathroom, Bella didn't look as sick as I had imagined. "Let's go."

Alice and Jasper led the way out of our apartment as I closed the door and locked up, Bella waiting beside me in the hallway. When we finally got downstairs, Bella seemed a little shocked at the SUV that Jasper was sliding into.

"Your dad rented us a Yukon? Isn't it a bit big?" she asked curiously as I helped her into the back seat.

"If you look in the back, you will notice it is almost completely full," Alice commented from the passenger seat as she messed with her iPod, which I was dreading listening to. Her music taste always tended to range from the craptastic to the completely absurd, so I could only imagine what the hell she had set for us today.

"Carlisle said he wanted us to have a big ride in case we picked up some disease ridden hitchhikers," laughed Jasper as Bella giggle slightly and then let out a painful sounding cough. "Or in case we ended up having to sleep in the car, there's plenty of room. He also gave us his gas card to pay for all the fuel. Sweet huh?"

"That was nice of them," Bella said sweetly as she buckled herself into the seat and then leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder. I pulled a blanket up from the floor and wrapped it tight around her as my arm rested over her shoulders, pulling her tight to me.

"Let's get this show on the road," called Alice from the front seat as she pulled out the map she had purchased and immediately told Jasper where to go. "Keep following the signs for the 1-95."

"Well Alice, could you keep your eyes on the road to help me," snapped Jasper as Alice had immediately picked up a magazine and was about to ignore him. Instead, she huffed angrily and dropped the magazine back to her lap.

"So much for reading about if Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were really hooking up on the set of New Moon," she giggled as she then pointed to a sign for the highway. "Take a left baby." Bella and I both laughed at their exchange, knowing that it was going to be a very long trip if they kept arguing like this.

Bella fell asleep against me before we even got out of Manhattan and I found myself checking her forehead for her temperature on a frequent basis. Alice chastised me on more than one occasion, but I didn't really care. "So where are we going first?" I asked Alice curiously as I stroked Bella's hair gently in an effort to pass the time.

"Well, we're staying in a cottage in East Falmouth tonight, but we're stopping in Fall River first so I can see the murder house," laughed Alice as Jasper and I both cringed. There isn't a ton of things to see along the way but we can always see the largest dairy store outside of Norwalk or the garbage museum near Bridgeport."

"Neither of those sound very appealing," laughed Jasper as he turned down the music so that Bella could sleep a bit more peacefully.

"Ooh in Exeter, Rhode Island there is a grave of a suspected vampire. That would be funny and creepy all rolled into one exciting outing," laughed Alice as I groaned. "We're supposed to be finding weird shit to do, so don't you boys roll your eyes at me when I suggest something off the beaten track. It's only a bit out of the way on our way to Fall River, so deal with it."

"Can you find some less creepy sights for us to visit tomorrow Ali?" asked Jasper with a nervous grin as Alice simply nodded her head and intertwined her fingers with his over the console between the front seats. As I sat in the back seat, I had to admit that my best friend and my little sister definitely made a good pair. They had been together for over five years already, discounting the one month break up last summer when Alice jumped to conclusions when she saw Jasper kissing some girl at one of his family barbeques. Turned out he kissed her on the cheek and she was a distant cousin or some shit like that. It took bottles of Patron and a lot of convincing from Bella to get Alice to see reason, but it happened, and thankfully things are back to normal.

We were almost to New Haven when Bella finally woke up, looking a little worse for wear, with hair all over the place and some small indents on her red cheek from my t-shirt. "What did I miss?" she asked curiously as she sat up a bit and tightened my grip around her shoulder.

"We're going vampire hunting," said Jasper from the front seat as I smiled reluctantly at her.

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously as I simply nodded my head in acknowledgment. "How very random. Bravo on the selection Alice."

"How do you know Jasper or I didn't choose it?" I asked in surprise.

"Because Jasper wants to see toilets and I have no idea what you want to see across the country. Alice is the strangely morbid one, so I figured it was all her idea," Bella said confidently as I wiped a few hairs from her face and kissed her temple.

"Very smart Bella," said Alice as she reached down for her iPod. While Bella had been asleep, Alice had agreed to not start any music so that she could rest peacefully and now that she was awake, I was certain my ears were about to be assaulted. I was surprised to hear Simon and Garfunkel come from the speakers of the SUV instead of some shitty ass Britney Spears. Even Bella was shocked as she looked up at me in complete awe.

_Let us be lovers well marry our fortunes together  
I've got some real estate _

_here in my bag  
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies  
And we walked off to look for America  
Kathy, I said as we boarded a greyhound in Pittsburgh  
Michigan seems like a dream to me now  
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw  
I've gone to look for America_

"You own Simon and Garfunkel?" asked Jasper incredulously as Bella and I both laughed from the back seat.

"No, but I know how to download shit from the internet and this was on Entertainment Weekly's list of one of the best road trip songs, so fuck off," said Alice defensively as Bella and I both laid our heads back against the seat and relaxed.

"What else do you have on this mix Alice?" asked Bella curiously as I closed my eyes, and leaned into Bella, greedily smelling her hair and kissing her temple.

"Umm… there's some Skynyrd, Pearl Jam, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman. I basically downloaded everything they recommended," said Alice confidently.

As the next song started, 'California' by Phantom Planet, I couldn't help but smile that Alice had actually gotten some good music for us. As I looked down at Bella beside me, I ran my fingers through her hair and was happier than I had felt in a few weeks. I was finally starting to enjoy the open road.


	4. The Open Road to East Falmouth, MA

**A/N: Two chapters in such a short span of time, how did you guys get so lucky? I'm leaving on Thursday for the weekend, so I thought I would try to get out as many chapters as I could. I will be writing while I am away, but not posting, so you might end up with a bunch of chapters for both stories when Sunday and Monday roll around**

**First of all, Bella does not have Swine Flu. I was surprised by the number of people who thought that and each time I laughed like crazy. It's just a cold people.**

**Skyeblue0610 was the only one to assume correctly, so kudos to you! I'm also loving all the people who let me know that they live / work near the places I have chosen. So, keep sharing these details with me. I will also be listing a song at the beginning of each chapter, so eventually you guys can have an 'American Boy' road trip mix just like me. The list will eventually be on my profile.**

**Ultracat75 – Sorry there was no additional chapter for you to read yesterday, hopefully this makes things a little bit more bearable.**

**And thanks to MaggieMay14 for the beta job and the help with plotlines. I love me some Doritos! ******** and Welcome Back to the land of fanfic lsyvia.**

**Enjoy**

**I don't own Twilight, but I do have a very dirty office.**

**Song for Chapter 4: The Road I'm On – 3 Doors Down**

**BPOV**

"Jasper, if you don't stop soon, I will literally start to eat the canvas on the seat," shouted Alice in frustration to Jasper, who was refusing to stop for lunch. It was already after one, according to the clock on the dashboard, so at Edward's urging Jasper finally relented and we drove off the highway and into a small town in eastern Connecticut called Mystic.

"Oh look, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway… what the hell is Tim Hortons?" asked Jasper as he tried to calm Alice by showing her all the restaurants in town. "What do you guys want to eat?"

"What about Subway?" I asked curiously, as I had a sudden hankering for a cold cut combo on wheat. Everyone else agreed and Jasper turned around and pulled into the parking lot. After lunch, we headed to Tim Hortons, which we discovered was a donut shop and got a pack of 'Timbits' aka donut holes and headed on our way with our coffees and donuts. (**A/N: For all you Canadians, I swear to god there is a Tim Hortons in Mystic Connecticut and I didn't pick the town because of it.)**

As we drove away, I noticed 'Mystic Pizza" on one of the signs we passed and immediately began to wonder. "Alice, turn on your laptop. Is the movie Mystic Pizza based in this town?" I asked curiously as she flipped open the computer and plugged in her wireless network adapter.

"We so should have gone there for Pizza. Damned you and your cold cut combo, Bella," sighed Alice as Edward laughed heartily in the back seat and we finally pulled back onto the highway.

"We should come back here one weekend, it seems like a cute little town," he whispered into my ear as I felt him bite down on it slightly, causing me to groan and then cough. "Time for another dose of drugs." Edward quickly pulled out a knapsack from the floor in front of his feet and pulled out my meds, handing them to me with the bottle of water from the cup holder. I took it all reluctantly and laid my head back against Edward's chest as Alice started to talk about our first stop of the trip.

"So, according to Google Maps, Exeter is only an hour away so if Jasper here puts the pedal to the metal we can be there before two thirty. Then we can be in Fall River before four and to the cottage before six. I trust everyone is fine with these arrangements?" asked Alice, although we all knew we were really being told as opposed to being asked. Edward and I both nodded our heads as Alice glared at us and then turned back around with a wide smile on her face.

It was less than an hour later that Jasper was pulling off the highway and driving down a few roads, directed by Alice, and we were parking at a small cemetery. "Alrighty then, let's get this over with," sighed Edward as Alice jumped from the passenger seat enthusiastically, her camera clutched in her hand.

"Show a little enthusiasm Edward. I'm sure this vampire had a soul or something," laughed Alice as she started to wander through the headstones. "We're looking for 'Mercy L. Brown' died in 1892," she called out as I clutched onto Edward's hand tightly, finding it extremely creepy that we were wandering through a graveyard in the middle of the day.

"It's over here Ali," called out Jasper as Alice started to sprint towards him and Edward and I anxiously followed. "Shit, she was only 19."

"So, online they said that she died of tuberculosis, like the rest of her family, but when they exhumed her body her heart was still filled with blood and her body was in perfect condition, whereas other members of her family were simply bones. Creepy huh?" said Alice as though she was reading from her laptop word for word, but it was actually back in the car.

"Fucking sick," laughed Edward as I pulled his arm and we headed back to the car, desperate to climb into the back seat. We watched as Alice took a few photos and then strode back to the car excitedly. "Okay, onto the murder house."

We were in Fall River just before four, like Alice had expected. She was doing an excellent job of planning the day and we had already started to discuss places we wanted to go to tomorrow during the drive from Exeter. Since it was on our way, Jasper had suggested we stop and check out Plymouth Rock, which was fine and a lot less disturbing than the things Alice had planned for us today.

"I know we're skipping Boston, for obvious reasons, but can we go to Salem?" I asked, as Edward shot me a curious glance. "What? Witches are different than vampires. I just think it would be interesting."

"Ooh, I always wanted to go but Carlisle and Esme refused to take me," shouted Alice enthusiastically as we pulled into the parking lot behind the Lizzie Borden house. Everyone got out reluctantly, with the exception of Alice who was practically bouncing down the parking lot to the door. We signed up for the final tour of the day and paid our fees, flashing our student cards to get a discount, and waited for the guide to show us around.

"Okay, this house is creepy," said Jasper as I looked around curiously at everything in the room. "I bet it's haunted too."

"If it helps Jas, I saw an episode of Ghost Hunters and they reviewed the place and didn't think it was haunted," I suggested helpfully as Edward looked at me with surprise.

"Why the hell were you watching Ghost Hunters?"

"Sometimes when you were at class late, I would watch it. There's nothing major on Wednesday night's anyways," I said with a laugh as our tour guide showed up and began to lead us and a few other people through the house. They showed us the rooms where her parents were killed and offered up history of the trial, she was acquitted surprisingly and I was shocked that I enjoyed it as much as I did. After we finished the tour, we headed to the gift shop and Alice bought a light blue t-shirt that said 'Everything I Need to Know About Anger Management I Learned From Lizzie Borden', which we all thought was hilarious.

"Okay… onto East Falmouth?" asked Jasper as we headed out to the car and everyone eagerly agreed. Alice talked almost the entire way, which was thankfully only an hour, about Lizzie Borden and read us odd facts from a book she also picked up. She had tried to convince Jasper to get a trucker hat with Lizzie's face on it, but he had flatly refused.

We arrived at the cottages just after five thirty and Alice and Jasper headed into the office to complete the paperwork as Edward and I sat in the car, waiting patiently for them. Edward leaned in and kissed my cheek and even though I wanted more, he pulled away, claiming I was too ill for anything major, which I scoffed at. "We got the two bedroom bitches," called out Jasper as he hopped into the SUV and headed down the small gravel road to our cottage.

While Alice and I headed straight into the small cabin to check things out, Edward and Jasper began to unload some of the bags from the back of the car. "Once everything that we need for tonight is unloaded, Jasper and I are going to head into town to pick up a few things," yelled Alice from the porch as I stood inside the cabin, staring at everything intently.

Every single wall or surface was covered in wood or 1970's wood paneling, but what could you expect in a small cabin like we had rented. I was just glad there wasn't orange shag carpeting on the floor. As I wandered into the bedrooms, I noticed there were no linens on the bed, so I opened up the window and yelled out to Edward, "bring in the sleeping bags, there's no linens." I noticed Edward nod in response and he threw all four sleeping bags to Jasper, who pretended it took a lot of effort to carry ten pounds of fabric and batting.

"Way to go there Champ. That looks like it took a lot of muscle," laughed Alice as Jasper finally dropped the sleeping bags on the couch and flipped her the bird. "Do you guys want to go out or stay in?"

"Let's eat in. Since you and Jas have to head into town anyways, why don't you guys pick up a pizza or something and bring it back?" I suggested sweetly as Alice agreed. I wrote down what Edward and I liked on our pizzas and before I knew it, he and I were alone and they had driven off in the Yukon, giggling like schoolchildren.

"You do realize they are probably about to have sex in the SUV right?" asked Edward as he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I had been standing out on the porch, watching them drive away, happy to finally be staying put for a while.

"We can always go christen their bed," I laughed as Edward looked down at me and groaned. "Oh, that's right. I'm way too sick," I added as I fake coughed for a moment and wandered into the house, leaving him on the porch.

As expected, Edward rushed in behind me to explain himself. "It's not that I don't want to Bella. I want you to feel better."

"I feel fine. All the drugs you've been forcing into me have made me feel great actually. If I wasn't good, could I do this?" I asked as I yanked the zipper down on his jeans and quickly took his cock in my hands. He hardened instantly and groaned as he walked backwards and his back was now against the kitchen counter, with nowhere to go.

"Bella," he groaned softly as my hand moved deftly along his length, feeling him pulse within my hand. I dropped down to the floor and quickly pulled him into my mouth as he moaned my name again, louder this time.

"Yes Edward?" I responded as I pulled him out for a moment and sucked him back in, hitting the back of my throat.

"Oh god," he moaned again as I ran my teeth along the underside of his hardness. I knew he was close to release, but I wanted him in me and I didn't mean my mouth, so I pulled him out and grabbed a sleeping bag, walking towards Alice and Jasper's room. When I turned around, Edward had completely lost his pants and was throwing them onto the dining room table as he began to chase me towards their room.

"Do you agree that I am healthier?" I asked seductively as I pulled my t-shirt up over my head and smiled at him eagerly. Edward simply nodded his head and tried to undress the rest of me as I opened up the sleeping bag and laid it down on the bed. As soon as I was naked, Edward grabbed me by the waist and had me on my back against the bed, his hardness directly over my eager pussy.

"You're a tease Bella."

"I'm only a tease if I don't give it up, Edward," I replied in response as I felt him slide into me slowly, completely filling me up with his cock. I moaned as I arched my back slightly, desperate to feel him deep inside me. Since Edward was already so far gone when he entered me, it didn't take him too long to let me know he was ready for release. I ran my finger down my stomach and began to rub my clit as he continued to pound into me, eager for my own release.

"That is so fucking hot Bella," he exclaimed as he looked down at my hand, between our joined bodies. Only moments later I felt Edward tense and release in me, his hand locking with mine to bring about my own orgasm right after his.

"I told you I was feeling better," I exclaimed happily as Edward rolled off of me and onto Alice and Jasper's bed with a loud thump.

"Okay, I agree," sighed Edward as I stood up and began redressing, nervously thinking about Alice and Jasper arriving and finding us in their bedroom. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to clean up and make it look like we've been doing something other than fucking on their bed."

**EPOV**

Okay, I had to agree that Bella was finally feeling better. She hadn't coughed in a little while and the color was definitely coming back to her cheeks. Of course, it really took fucking her on Alice and Jaspers bed to help me realize she was doing okay. When I finally pulled my clothes back on, after fetching my jeans from the dining room, I helped Bella make our bed and then Jasper and Alice's. We opened all four sleeping bags and laid one on the bottom of the bed and another on top. We laughed as we made Alice and Jasper's bed, but knowing full well that they were probably fucking in the SUV made it a bit more bearable.

We were relaxing on the couch and watching one of the first episodes of the Simpsons on the small TV when Alice and Jasper arrived, the headlights flooding the entire room with light. When they finally stumbled into the room clutching a few bags of snacks and two pizzas from Dominos, I wasn't surprised to find that they were arguing. "The new flavors are shitty as hell," stated Alice as she put the bags down on the counter and glared at Jasper.

"Are you kidding me? The Jalapeno Poppers flavor isn't half bad and what about Sweet Spicy Chili, you liked those," retorted Jasper in frustration. You'd seriously think they were arguing politics considering how involved they were in the discussion.

"As far as I am concerned, Doritos should only be in three flavors. Nacho Cheese, Zesty Cheddar and Cool Ranch. Anything else is pointless and tastes like shit. Did you even try the Taco flavored one, it tasted like taco at first and then it tasted like sheer ass," shouted Alice as Bella stood from the couch and tried to calm her down.

"Whatever Alice. You know you liked the Sweet Spicy Chili, so give it up," sighed Jasper as he started to pull some can of soda and chips from one of their grocery bags.

"It's only Doritos," said Bella as Jasper glared at her. "Do you guys always fight about meaningless crap?" she asked with a laugh as she opened up a box of pizza and grabbed a few of the paper plates they had brought with them. Bella handed me two slices of the Supreme and a can of Pepsi and then she served herself, waiting on a response from Alice or Jasper.

"Yeah, we fight about the stupidest shit, but the makeup sex is totally worth it," said Alice with a grin as Jasper suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Okay, no more talk about Doritos or sex with my sister," I stated firmly as I sat beside Bella at the dining room table and hungrily bit into my pizza. Surprisingly, Jasper and Alice stayed quiet for the rest of the meal and as soon as they were done eating, they went into their bedroom. "Why don't we head to bed?" I asked Bella as loud grunts and groans started to come from the other bedroom. Thankfully, our bedroom was at the opposite end of the cabin, so when we finally closed the bedroom door, we couldn't hear them anymore.

"I hope this whole trip with them isn't about arguing and sex," laughed Bella as she slipped into a pair of cotton pajamas with a tank top. "Otherwise, I might want to kick them out of the Yukon when we get to Maine."

I changed into my boxers and slid under the top of our sleeping bag, pulling Bella tight against me when she finally joined me. "I hope so too. This trip will be awesome regardless though, right? I'm sure there will be a time when they get frustrated at us for not being able to keep our hands off of each other."

"Yeah, like when they find out we had sex on their bed," laughed Bella as I kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah, like that," I agreed.

The next morning, Bella and I were awoken by Alice in the kitchen as she tried to make Pop-Tarts. The small kitchen in the cabin had a few appliances like a coffee maker and toaster, so she was trying to take advantage of it, but since we didn't bring scissors, she was having trouble opening the package. When she finally threw the pastry against the window, we decided to get up.

"Alice, relax," advised Bella we walked into the living room. Alice was already fully showered and dressed, and we could hear the water running, so we knew Jasper was getting ready too. "It's a Pop-Tart, not Eggs Benedict. We can pick up some coffee and donuts when we hit the road." Alice finally nodded her head in agreement as Jasper strolled out of the bathroom with a towel draped low across his hips.

"Put on some fucking clothes," I called out sarcastically to Jasper as he turned around and tried to flash me, but Alice stepped in front of him, thankfully shielding me from him.

"Remind me to ask Alice later why the hell she felt the need to assault a box of Pop-Tarts earlier," said Bella as she strolled into our room and grabbed her shower bag and headed towards the bathroom. "Care to conserve water?"

"Fuck yes," I said as I followed her quickly into the small bathroom, eager to be alone with her again. Unfortunately sex wasn't on the agenda because just as things were getting frisky, all the hot water disappeared and we were stuck with freezing cold water. "Jesus Christ," I yelled in surprise as I hopped out of the shower, grabbing the first towel I could find.

Bella didn't seem as affected as I was, probably thanks to living in the northwest her entire life. "It's just water Edward," she said with a giggle as she strolled out of the shower and wrapped a big towel around herself before stepping out of the bathroom and headed to our bedroom. Alice and Jasper had already picked up virtually everything and were busy folding up our sleeping bags when we came out.

"Looks like you had a nice shower," laughed Jasper as he noticed me head back to the bedroom shivering.

"Screw you," I replied angrily as I reminded myself to hop in the shower first during our next stop, so that I could use all the hot water. Knowing Alice, she probably had an hour long shower this morning though. Bella and I quickly got dressed and tossed our bags into the car as Jasper insisted on driving today, which didn't bother me in the least. "Let me know when you want me to take over," I said as I slid into the backseat beside Bella, who had picked out a book from her bag to read.

We stopped at the first Dunkin Donuts we could find and got a dozen donuts and four coffees and immediately started up 28 North towards Plymouth, where our first stop of the day was going to be Plymouth Rock.

"You know, if we turn here and get on the 25, we can see the World's largest thermometer collection," suggested Alice as she scanned through a website filled with odd sites for us to visit.

"Tempting, but didn't you want to get to Bryant Pond today Alice?" asked Bella cryptically as Alice nodded her head quietly in the front seat.

"Yup. We're going to do Plymouth Rock, then Salem and then Bryant Pond. I booked us a room at the Bethel Inn Resort, a few miles up the road from Bryant Pond. It was really the closest hotel," said Alice as I sat in the backseat confused as to why the hell we were going to Bryant Pond.

"The next day, we should go down to the coast and see if we can get some whale watching in," said Bella enthusiastically as she finally closed her book after we both noticed she hadn't turned a single page since we got in the vehicle.

"That's a great idea. But just so you guys know, I had to book us one room with two double beds. It's all they had left on such short notice unless you wanted me to shell out two hundred bucks a night for a townhouse, so no sex," laughed Alice as I nodded in agreement of the room she had chosen. "They have a decent restaurant there, so I made us reservations for eight, so step on the gas pedal Whitlock, we have shit to do today."

**A/N: I know, tours end at 3pm at the Lizzie Borden House, but I need to make some changes for the sake of the story, right? And I promise, every single sight I mention in this story is accurate. You should all know by now that I wouldn't make any of these locations up. I'm a perfectionist that way.**


	5. East Falmouth, MA to Bethel, ME

**A/N: This is the last chapter before I go away for the weekend. I will be back Monday with a vengeance I'm sure. **

**In the meantime: One of my most awesome readers and reviewers has dipped her toes into the water that if Fan Fic, so I highly recommend you all run over to 'Someone to Watch Over Me' by Flightlessbird11 and review your little brains out!! She's done a great job so far, but bear in mind it is a WIP so she's only got a few chappies up.**

**Thanks as per usual to MaggieMay14, Flightlessbird11 and my new friend WeasleyWeakness who gave a lot of information of the first part of this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!**

**I don't own twilight, but I am currently listening to 'Rootless Tree' by Damien Rice.**

**Song for Chapter 5 – Vienna by Billy Joel (A shout out to American Girl btw)**

**BPOV**

The trees in Massachusetts flew by rather quickly as Jasper listened to Alice insisting that we had to get to Plymouth Rock as soon as possible. I sat in the backseat with Edward, curled up in his arms, simply relaxing and enjoying the fact that I was feeling better. Jasper had teased me for part of the day yesterday claiming I had swine flu and I simply coughed on him in response. I went to lick his face once, but Alice stood between us in a halfhearted effort to help Jasper, because she was laughing the entire time.

It was less than an hour later that we pulled onto Water St. in Plymouth and Jasper parked the car, as he ran across the street to the small structure which housed the actual rock. "He's a tad bit excited," I said casually to Edward and Alice as we strolled across the road behind him. Jasper had already taken three pictures using Alice's camera by the time we had arrived.

"This is a major historical site," said Jasper proudly as he glanced to the north and saw a replica of the Mayflower docked at the pier. I looked down upon the rock, which wasn't nearly as large as I had expected and saw that it was engraved with the year 1620. Jasper was smiling broadly as Edward looked around, clearly bored with everything.

"How is it that you were more excited about everything in Europe?" I asked Edward as he grabbed my hand and led me across the street to a small ice cream parlor, with Jasper and Alice following behind us.

"Simple, I was pretending to enjoy it while I plotted different ways to get into your pants," he said with a laugh as Jasper tapped him on the shoulder to give him a high five. I muttered 'idiot' to myself as we walked into Ziggy's Ice Cream Parlor and began to check out the menu on the wall behind the counter.

"Can I help you boys?" asked the pretty brunette behind the counter, who had her chin resting on her propped up hand, lazily. I couldn't help but notice that she was spending way too much time checking out both Jasper and Edward, so Alice and I slipped our arms around their waists a bit possessively and Alice ordered first.

"I'd like a chocolate covered banana please," she said with a seductive grin, talking to Jasper, instead of 'Emily' as her name tag stated.

"Make that two," I said slyly as Edward looked down at me curiously and then back to the menu on the wall. I was pleased to see that he wasn't paying attention to our server, but she was definitely paying attention to him. I felt like wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling him onto the counter for a quick fuck so she knew to stay away from my man.

"I'll just take a cup of vanilla ice cream, but can you put some of those junior mints on it?" asked Jasper as Emily batted her eyelashes, trying to be cute. She nodded eagerly before she turned towards Edward and licked her lips. _Oh no she didn't._

"Um… just a small waffle cone with chocolate," said Edward anxiously as I pulled him to a nearby bench and awaited our order, which Jasper insisted on paying for. Alice and I watched Emily intently as she placed our order and then began to serve the customers after us, clearly back in work mode instead of drooling guy mode. She had acted as though we weren't even with the boys and we she called us to pick up our order, she accidently dropped Alice's banana, which pissed Alice off to no end. Thankfully, before Alice had a chance to scream bloody murder at her, she came back with another one and a huge smile on her face.

"Here you guys go. Have fun in Plymouth… I get off at five," she called as we all started to walk away, Alice and I laughing profusely as both guys blushed a deep shade of red.

We wandered down the road a bit, heading back towards where the Mayflower Replica was docked and as Edward and I sat on a stone bench overlooking the ocean, Jasper and Alice stepped closer to take a few photos. "We'll only be five minutes and then we need to get back on the road," said Alice fiercely as Edward shooed her away and took a quick bite of my banana.

"Can I just say that you eating a chocolate covered banana gives me all sorts of evil ideas," laughed Edward as he took the last bite of his cone and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I opened my mouth slowly and began to lick the entire length of the banana, making Edward stare at me with lust fueled eyes. As I slowly slid it into my mouth, Edward leaned over and kissed my neck as he whispered "cock tease" so me softly.

"Why do you think I got it? I decided I wanted to be a cock tease all day," I giggled as Edward smiled back at me crookedly, which meant sexy. I licked all over the banana, sucking off most of the chocolate in the process and Edward was still staring like it was the first time he's ever seen me suck on anything. "Since we have to share the bedroom with Jasper and Alice tonight, I wanted to get you all worked up. By the way, that girl was so flirting with you boys."

"Jealous much?" asked Edward as he kissed the top of my head and glared at the water, no doubt trying to think of things to calm down his erection. I thought I heard him muttering something about dolphins, but I just shook my head and went to respond to his question.

"Umm no, not usually. She just looked like she was going to jump either one of you boys at any time and eat you or something," I said with a grin as Edward squeezed me in his grasp.

"You have nothing to worry about baby. You're stuck with me."

Alice and Jasper bounced over to our bench a few minutes later and dragged us back to the car, so that we could get on our way to Salem. It took us almost two hours to get to Salem after getting stuck in some lunch hour traffic in the Boston area, which pissed off Alice. She had planned the trip down to the last second and apparently this didn't fit into her schedule at all. Once we had cleared all the traffic, she had Jasper speed up a bit so that we could make up some time. "The area around Bryant Pond is pretty desolate, so I am sure we can make up some time on those roads as well," she added as we pulled off of the highway and into the town of Salem. Edward had napped in the backseat for the last hour, so I nudged him awake and as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, I kissed him quickly on the cheek and jumped out of the Yukon, which was now parked at the Witch History Museum.

"Okay, this is gonna be sweet," I said excitedly as Alice latched her arm into mine and we strolled into the old brick building which looked a lot like part of a castle. They had an exhibit going on while we visited called 'Witches: Evolving Perceptions' which Alice and I were excited about, though Jasper and Edward were clearly bored.

"Oh suck it up. When we hit a two story outhouse, you can't actually think that Bella and I would be interested," laughed Alice as she gripped Jasper's hand and pulled him into the exhibit. We all listened, some of us more intently than others, as the guide who took us through the exhibit explained the history as well as some of the details of the exhibit and when we finally left, Alice again insisted on picking up something from the souvenir shop. She ended up picking up a fortune telling teacup that she insisted reminded her of Professor Trelawny in Harry Potter.

"Are you going to see the grim?" asked Jasper as he helped her into the Yukon, making fun of her from the moment she made the purchase.

"No, but I bet if I read your fortune right now it would say you're not getting laid for a while," she joked as he shut the door behind her and stomped back to the driver's seat of the SUV like a petulant child. Edward and I sat comfortably in the back as Jasper drove us to Wendy's for lunch, where Alice and I both picked up a salad. Seeing as we were running behind, Alice made us eat lunch in the car as we drove and it was pretty hilarious to watch her feed Jasper his chicken sandwich as we hopped back onto the highway, heading towards Maine.

It was a three hour drive from Salem up to Bryant Pond and the closer we got, the more excited Alice seemed to be. She sat with her laptop perched on her lap and was looking up stuff for us to do the next day. "We're really close to Quebec from Maine. Anyone want to go there instead?" asked Alice curiously as she glanced into the backseat and looked at Edward and I.

"You need a passport to get into Canada. Did anyone bring one?" asked Edward as no one responded. I hadn't even thought to bring mine since I never even considered leaving the country. That topic was quickly shot down as I reminded Alice that I wanted to go to southern Maine and try to see some whales. She quickly looked up some ideas and mentioned them to me, which all sounded great and before we knew it, we had arrived in Bryant Pond.

"So, did you know the good people of Bryant Pond were the last to use hand cranked phones?" asked Alice as we all looked at her as though she was a raving idiot. She told Jasper to turn left, and her words were finally understood as we pulled into a parking lot of the post office where the phone was located. In front of us was what could only be described as a 'fucking big ass phone', according to Jasper. It was at least the size of a house and was dark black, with the standard big crank on the old telephones that Alice had mentioned.

Even Edward seemed to be enjoying himself as we took dozens of pictures of us in front of the phone, including one of all four of us taken by another tourist who also found it interesting. Once we had finished with the phone, Alice winked at me and we all hopped into the car. Edward and Jasper were desperate to get out of the car and into the hotel, but I knew full well there was still one more place to visit today.

"Why in the hell are we here?" asked Edward as we pulled into what could only be described as a grassy parking lot outside of the Bryant Pond Masonic Hall.

"There's a surprise for Jasper inside?" laughed Alice as we looked at the slightly run down white clapboard building and she urged him out of the car.

"I'm gonna get killed by an axe-murderer inside?" asked Jasper as we all laughed at him heartily. Just as we were walking to the front door, an older man with a beer belly and a thick beard which made him look like Santa Claus came wandering out with a huge smile on his face.

"You must be Alice," he said eagerly as he offered his hand and she shook it happily while bouncing up the stairs.

"We're closed today, but Alice's email intrigued me so here I am, to show you guys our three story outhouse," said John, aka Santa. We all looked up at Jasper and his face was completely white as he broke into a huge smile and wrapped his arms around Alice from behind as she followed John into the building. "The locals like to call it the skycrapper, which I think is rather funny."

Thankfully, we were only at the hall for a total of ten minutes as Jasper got his picture taken in every single bathroom. He was like a kid at Christmas as he bounced around the room, constantly thanking Alice for finding the location and moved about the floors eagerly to get his photo taken. We thanked John for his time and were back on the road and headed towards the hotel which Alice had booked for us. "I had no idea a three story outhouse even existed," sighed Jasper happily once we were pulling out of the parking lot.

"I don't think many people do. We stumbled across it while looking for places to go," I added as I felt Edward's hand snake up to my neck and begin massaging it gently. I moaned lightly in pleasure as Alice turned back around to make sure our hands were behaving themselves. "Oh calm down. We wouldn't do that in the car, unlike some people."

"What? We never did it in the car," said Alice forcefully as Jasper giggled lightly from the driver's seat, basically proving her wrong.

"Whatever," said Edward as he continued his ministrations on my neck before moving down to my shoulders. I was completely relaxed and comfortable when we pulled into the Bethel Inn Resort, which looked like something out of Gone with the Wind or something equally lavish. I should have expected nothing less from Alice when we pulled into the valet and grabbed our bags from the back of the SUV.

Alice went to check in as Edward handed out luggage to the bellboy and requested that he follow Alice. As I looked around the property, Edward gripped my hand in his tightly and we started to walk around the building, towards the woods surrounding the property. "They have a huge in ground heated pool here. We should totally visit it after dinner," Edward said sweetly as I felt his arms slip around my waist. It was only five minutes later that we were in a secluded wooded area and Edward was leaning me against a tree and kissing me passionately.

"What are we doing?" I asked with a nervous grin as I felt his hands snake up my shirt.

"Well, I'm punishing you for the chocolate banana thing and hoping to relieve a bit of our time in Vienna."

**EPOV**

The moment she bought the chocolate banana in Plymouth that morning, I knew I had to have her today at some point. It had only been twelve hours since the last time we had sex, but I couldn't wait another day or two to be inside of her. So, the moment we pulled up to the Inn and I saw how secluded it was, I grabbed her hand and led her towards the woods. I didn't care how many splinters I might get on my hands or ass, I was fucking her as soon as I could.

When I told her that I wanted to relieve Vienna, her eyes bugged out of her head and she smiled at me happily, signaling that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I moved us further into the woods, where it was slightly darker and sat down on the ground, watching Bella intently as she pulled off her shirt and began to undo the buttons on her shorts, which she dropped on the ground beside me. "Fuck," I muttered lowly as I watched Bella straddle me in the middle of the Maine woods in only a bra and panties. It was certainly warm enough out here for her to be dressed so scantily, but I still couldn't believe she had agreed to it.

"Hmm… Vienna was a very special place," said Bella as I felt her lips drag across my neck, eliciting goose bumps all over my body.

"Yes it… was," I agreed with a groan as she ground herself down on me. I was about to unbutton my jeans when my phone rang in my pocket and I grabbed it, noticing it was Alice. "What?" I snapped at her in frustration as I heard her moan angrily at me.

"I just wanted to let you know we're in Room 206 and we have dinner reservations at eight, so don't be too long doing whatever the hell you two are doing," replied Alice as I snapped the phone shut without giving her a response. I looked up at Bella, who had undone my pants for me while talking to Alice, and watched with pure lust as she ran her tongue along her bottom lip, biting it nervously.

"What did Alice want?" asked Bella as her hands moved slowly up my chest, pinching my nipples and causing me to groan loudly.

"Who's Alice?" I asked with a laugh as she pulled my shirt over my head and continued to grind her eager pussy against my jean covered cock. I grabbed Bella's hair and pulled her back from my chest for a moment as I leaned forward, licking her from her ear to the swell of her bra clad breast. "You are so fucking delicious," I said hungrily as I pulled her bra down so it cupped her breasts and began to suck on her nipple, while my other hand massaged her other breast firmly.

"Oh hell yeah," moaned Bella as her fingers began to scrap across my chest forcefully. Bella pulled away from me for a moment and grabbed my t-shirt, lying in on the ground between my legs. As I lifted my ass off the ground, Bella pulled my jeans down to my ankles and kneeled on the t-shirt, enveloping my cock in her mouth in one quick movement, causing me to shiver and groan loudly.

"Suck me Bella," I chanted for a few moments as her tongue worked along my length magically. It was pure heaven and a hell of a lot better than Vienna, which although wonderful in its own right, had basically been a quick fuck against a tree in a moment of unadulterated passion. "Oh sweet lord," I said as she dropped her mouth onto me farther than before, my cock hitting the back of her throat. She gagged momentarily before pulling back and sitting back on her knees, licking her lips seductively which made my cock twitch.

Bella moved closer to me and as I grabbed her panties to pull them off, Bella swatted my hand away. Instead, she slid the small fabric to the side and sat down on my hardness eagerly. I wanted to scream out that I loved her the moment I was wrapped in her hot pussy, but all that came out was a low grunt that probably scared some deer somewhere in the forest. Bella giggled at me for a moment until her lips crashed against mine and she began rocking her body with me moving deep inside of her.

"This is better than Vienna," she said sweetly as she bit down on my ear lobe and I grabbed her hips, lifting her up and down along my length. I felt Bella bite down on my neck, sucking furiously as though she was marking me so no other ice cream scoopers would feel the need to flirt shamelessly with me.

"Oh so good," I groaned as I felt myself ready to burst. I pushed Bella back slightly, so that her hands were resting on my knees and her clit was hard and ready for me. I began to rub circles around her and she immediately shivered from my touch. The harder and quicker I moved against her nub, the louder and more excited she got until finally she gripped my knees so tightly I thought she might dislocate one. She came hard, milking my own orgasm from me before she wrapped her arms around me tightly. "Much better than Vienna," I sighed as I grasped her face in my hands and began peppering small kisses from her forehead to her breasts.

We lingered against the tree for a few moments, reveling in being together before finally getting dressed and wandering back to the Inn. It was starting to get a bit dark out and when I flipped my phone open, I saw that it was already seven thirty. "Alice is going to have my ass," I said nervously as we walked into the foyer of the Inn and began to find our room.

"No chance in hell. That ass is all mine," said Bella with a bit of a growl as she grabbed my ass and we started walking up the stairs to the second floor.

"There are twigs in your hair Bella," laughed Jasper as we walked in and Alice immediately gripped her wrist and pulled her into the bathroom. I could hear the torment from the bedroom as I grabbed a pair of slacks and a dress shirt from my bag and began to get changed, not really caring that Jasper was sitting five feet away from me watching The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

"Did you two fuck in the woods?" he asked with a grin as I started to button up my black dress shirt.

"Do you really want the answer to that?" I replied as Jasper looked back at me with an eager smile. I simply nodded my head and he got up and patted me on the back.

"Good man. Any splinters?" he asked with another huge smile.

"No splinters man, but I think I might have scared off a deer."

Alice and Bella stumbled from the bathroom just before eight and like usual Bella looked stunning in a simple black dress. We followed Jasper and Alice down to the main dining room and ate dinner in relative peace, although Jasper kept whispering me questions about sex in the woods and I finally told him to just try it and get it over with. It was just sex for crying out loud. I knew him and Alice had already done it in some weird places in their time so I wasn't sure why he was so curious about doing it in the woods. Perhaps she had an aversion to maple trees that I wasn't aware of.

After dinner, Bella and I quickly slipped into our bathing suits and wandered down to the pool area with our towels. Unfortunately for us, Alice and Jasper had the exact same idea and we ended up playing around like ten year olds instead of twenty something's. I had planned to try and seduce Bella into some pool sex before heading up stairs, but Alice and Bella both complained of being tired, so we sadly followed our women back to the bedroom where we all quickly changed into our pajamas and hopped into bed, falling asleep shortly after our heads hit the pillows.

I woke up at ten past seven to Alice shaking me violently as she tried to wake me up. Bella was already awake and in the shower and I couldn't help but notice that Jasper and Alice were both already dressed.

"Why does everyone wake me last?" I asked in confusion as I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Well today we woke you last so you could get some extra sleep. You're on driving duty." Alice had planned for us to drive from Bethel down to Bar Harbor where she had signed us up for a whale watching tour that left the dock at one o'clock. "It's almost four hours away so the moment Bella gets out of the shower, you get in so we can get going," added Alice as I stood from the bed and picked out a pair of khaki shorts and a dark blue golf shirt.

When we finally got into the Yukon, it was just before eight in the morning and if Alice's predictions were right, we should arrive at the dock with just enough time to eat and get on the boat for the tour. Bella was in the front seat with me and she had free reign over the music, so she turned on her own iPod and plugged it into the adapters that Alice had brought with her.

"What do you guys feel like listening to?" she asked of Alice and Jasper who were curled up in the backseat with a blanket across their laps.

"Anything," sighed Jasper as he leaned forward and kissed Alice. I turned back to the road ahead and peeked over at Bella every so often to see what she was doing. When she finally settled on our first song of the day, I let a loud sigh of relief go. She had great taste in music, I should never have doubted her, I thought to myself as the first chords of 'Vienna' by Billy Joel flooded the SUV and I smiled over at her, thinking that today was going to be a great day.

_Slow down, you crazy child  
you're so ambitious for a juvenile  
But then if you're so smart, tell me  
Why are you still so afraid?_

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?  
You'd better cool it off before you burn it out  
You've got so much to do and  
Only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told..  
That you can get what you want or you get old  
You're gonna kick off before you even  
Get halfway through  
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?


	6. Bethel, ME to Sagurerties, NY

**A/N: Okay, so I'm not overly happy with this chapter, but it's needed to move them onto the next phase, AKA ALL THE DRAMA. I have some big plans for this story, but they need to be further along on the trip to get there.**

**I hope everyone enjoys, more than me, and I will be updating soon (1-2 days) which will lead us into the fun.**

**Thanks to all the regulars, you know who you are.**

**I don't own twilight, I do however happen to have a healthy dislike for the city of Hamilton, Ontario!**

**Song for Chapter 6 - Passenger Side by Wilco**

**EPOV**

The ride down to Bar Harbor was longer than I had anticipated; made even more unbearable by Jasper's loud snoring in the back seat. There was another plus to Jasper's driving, no fucking snoring. When we finally pulled into the parking lot, everyone was more than ready to get out of the car and stretch their legs. We ended up eating some leftover pizza from our cooler for lunch in an effort to save time and I had to admit, I think I enjoyed it a little too much as Bella fed me my slices while I continued to focus on the road in front of me.

"So, whose idea was the whale watching?" asked Jasper as he stepped his lanky legs out of the car and was immediately pulling one back behind him to stretch. He let out a low groan as we all laughed, which caused a few other people in the parking lot to stare at us. Alice ran in and bought our tickets while Bella, Jasper and I followed behind her slowly, after emptying the Yukon of every scrap of garbage that was contained within, which almost filled a large garbage can.

It wasn't long before we boarded the catamaran for our three hour trip. "I know what happens on a three hour tour," I laughed easily as Bella glared up at me and shook her head, clearly not impressed with my stupid joke, although Jasper and Alice found it somewhat amusing. The boat was a lot larger than any of us assumed and both Jasper and I smiled happily when we found out they offered beer and wine in the galley.

"No drinking, since you're the driver," chastised Alice as I groaned unhappily. I watched with envy as Jasper cracked open a beer and began to drink it greedily, so I grabbed Bella's hand and went up onto the deck with her to watch the boat leave the harbor. There was a loud voice overhead advising us of different kinds of whales we might see, in addition to possible puffins and seals. Bella seemed genuinely excited as the announcer, who we later discovered with the captain, spoke enthusiastically.

Sure enough, it was less than an hour later that we were finally getting a glimpse of some humpback whales. Of course, I couldn't tell one whale from the other, but a little bit later we also saw something called a finback whale and Alice continued to snap dozens of photos of all the whales. Before the boat turned to head back to the dock, Bella and Alice convinced an elderly couple from Atlanta to take a picture of the four of us together with the whales in the background. Once we had seen almost everything we could, Bella and I wandered downstairs and huddled up at a small table beside a window looking out over the water.

"Was it everything you thought it would be?" I asked with a chuckle as Bella smiled happily at me.

"Even more so. I don't think I could get bored watching the whales, although you'd have to be with me in case I do," said Bella somewhat seductively. I don't think even she realized how much she was turning me on at that moment.

"Oh really? What would I need to do to if you did get bored?" I asked, my interest piqued as I felt her hand snake up my leg towards my now aching hard on.

"You know exactly what you would need to do, Mr. Cullen," she added as she slipped her finger into her mouth and rested it there for a moment, practically fucking me with her eyes.

I leaned forward and wrapped my head through her hair as I pulled her face towards mine, desperate for a kiss. I felt her tongue run along the length of my bottom lip and as I opened up to let her in, our mouths were pressed firmly together and then everything was ruined by Alice.

"Oh stop it you two," scolded Alice as both Bella and I shot her upset glances. "I booked us two separate rooms at the Days Inn tonight, so you guys can get your freak on in a few hours," she added with a laugh as I continued to glare at her. So much for my plan to get it on while on a whale watching catamaran, I thought to myself. It would have been a nice addition to the train and boat we already enjoyed in Europe.

When we eventually got off the boat, it was almost five and Jasper's stomach was growling loudly at all of us. Even though we all wanted to go and eat, Alice insisted on checking into the hotel before it got too late, so we did as instructed, although very reluctantly. The hotel was nothing fancy, serving merely as a space to sleep, fuck and shower, but I didn't care. Bella and I had definitely stayed in worse during our trip through Europe, so as I dragged our luggage into our room, I wasn't surprised when Bella suddenly deemed it luxurious.

Dinner was a casual affair, sandwiches at some small café down near the water, but as soon as we were done, Alice and Jasper wandered off down the pier, leaving Bella and I to ourselves. We had walked from the hotel, so as I thumbed the key card in my pocket, I wondered how quickly we could run back so that I could get her into bed. "What do you want to do now?" asked Bella curiously as we walked in the opposite direction of Alice and Jasper.

"Go back to our room and fuck like bunnies," I said solemnly as she smiled brightly at me.

"We're in lovely Bar Harbor, Maine and all you can think about is sex?" scoffed Bella.

"If I'm within a hundred mile radius of you Bella, all I think about is sex. You should know me better than this. Didn't we determine after only like two weeks of knowing each other that I was a horny son of a bitch?" Bella nodded her head as I smiled eagerly. "How about sex and a movie? I might even throw in some dirty talk and cuddling."

"How sweet. There's the romantic Edward I fell in love with," she said sarcastically as I reached down for her hand and we walked along the waterfront.

"Oh, and sex against a tree isn't romantic?" I laughed as she grinned at me.

"Sex against a tree is erotic, mind blowing, awe inspiring and coma inducing, but not overly romantic." I let Bella's words simmer in my thoughts for a little while as we enjoyed the warm breeze that was coming in from the south as we walked along in the slowly darkening night. We turned back towards the hotel around eight, with me bound and determined to show my woman a little romance. Unfortunately, when we got there, Bella felt the need to check in on our family and friends.

"Rosalie, how are the plans going?" Those six words were the final nail in my coffin. Bella and Rosalie chatted amiably for the next hour about the wedding plans that had already been arranged. I half listened to the conversation while also trying to focus on the Entourage marathon that was playing on HBO in our room. I honestly considering showering and jerking off because she had gotten me so hard earlier in the day and I wasn't sure we would have our own room the next night. I decided against it, still holding out hope to slip inside my girlfriend at some point tonight. I curled up on the couch and got involved in the life of Vinnie, E and the boys.

"Edward, wake up baby," said Bella's gentle voice as she nudged my shoulder. I wiped some drool off of my face and looked at the clock on the tiny VCR in the room. Shit, it was past midnight.

"Please don't tell me you just got off the phone with Rose," I said as I sat up, wiping the sleep from my eyes and stretching. Bella was silent, signaling that it had been true. "That was like a three hour phone call. How is she anyways?"

"She's fine… lots of wedding stuff going on, nothing you want to hear about. However, during most of the call all I heard was Jasper and Alice going at it next door. The profanities that came out of that girl's mouth would choke a horse," laughed Bella as I cringed at the thought.

"Thanks, I really needed that mental image," I replied as she kissed my cheek and then pulled away suddenly.

"Sorry baby, can I make it up to you?" she asked sweetly, her eyes filled with lust.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked as I looked closer at her and noticed she was wearing a bathrobe. My interest was immediately piqued as she stood before me and slowly untied the robe, dropping it to the floor, leaving her completely naked and me completely breathless. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto me, her body straddling me as I sat on the couch.

"I thought there could be some of this," she started to say as she leaned down and kissed my neck firmly, sucking and licking every inch of skin she could reach. "Then maybe a bit of this," she added as I felt her lips and teeth on my earlobe, gently tugging, causing me to moan in pleasure. "Perhaps even a bit of this," she added as I watched her hands slip between her legs and then come up a moment later, as she offered two fingers to me which tasted just like my sweet Bella.

I couldn't take her teasing anymore, so I quickly picked her up and brought her to our bed, yanking my belt and jeans off as we went. "No more three hour phone calls with Rosalie," I muttered as I began to cover her breasts and stomach with kisses. Bella was yanking my shirt off over my head as I tried to pull my jeans off, somewhat unsuccessfully. They came off, but I almost fell over in the process. Smooth Cullen.

"No more," panted Bella as she pulled my face to hers and began to kiss my lips fiercely.

"When we get back to New York… I want more of these naked times. We should instigate a 'Naked Sunday' when we spend all day nude, even if we're just watching TV and doing laundry," I added as I lifted her legs up onto my shoulders and positioned myself at her hot entrance.

"Deal," she replied with a grin. "Now shut up and fuck me already," she said with a wink as I leaned forward slightly and thrust deep into her, causing her to scream out my name loudly. As I continued to pound into her, I watched her face intently as it contorted in pleasure."Oh yes Edward, fuck me," she called out noisily as I glanced down at her eager body below me.

"I'm just giving back what they gave me earlier," laughed Bella as I rammed into her again and she screamed even louder. "Oh God yes, you are so fucking huge baby. Oh yes…" My ego was completely stroked by her words, but I was trying to remain caught up in fucking her, as opposed to getting back at Alice and Jasper.

Our plywood headboard was banging against the wall rather loudly and just as Bella and I both came, our screams echoing around the room, we heard several loud knocks on our wall followed by Jasper yelling "Shut the fuck up assholes."

"What was that? You want us to fuck again?" I called out to the other room. I could hear Jasper sigh loudly and Bella and I giggled incessantly for several minutes before finally wrapping ourselves in each other's arms and passing out.

We paid the price for our raucous session the night before because Jasper and Alice got us up at the butt crack of dawn to get going. Jasper even insisted that I drive as penance for ruining their sleep the night before. "Oh calm down, now you've learned to get rooms on different floors," I said with a sigh as I tossed our luggage in the back of the SUV and helped Bella into the passenger seat. She was still half asleep when we turned north onto Hwy 3 on our way out of Maine.

Alice hadn't planned anything special for the day and we decided to simply let things land in our lap. Her goal was to get into Albany before nightfall, which was totally doable in nine hours, according to the GPS that we had finally figured out how to use. Jasper read the manual last night while he was forced to listen to Bella and me giggling after sex.

We took some back roads through Maine and before we knew it, we were in Northern Vermont. I hadn't noticed I was speeding until we reached Montpelier with almost an hour to spare. "Good job, man," said Jasper as we hopped out of the car and stretched our legs for a few minutes.

"There's a place here in town that apparently houses the world's smelliest sneakers, who's up for it?" laughed Alice as we all cringed. "No? I didn't think so."

"Let's just grab lunch and we can decide on our next stop after that okay?" suggested Bella as she hopped from the car. She had slept for most of the ride between Maine and Vermont, in fact, they all did, which was probably why no one noticed me speeding. I didn't care though; I was enjoying the peace and quiet. Once the summer was over and I moved into the real world of the employed, it was going to be hard to find this peace again.

**BPOV**

"What about the Maple Syrup Museum?" suggested Alice as we all sat in a booth of the small restaurant, her laptop wide open, as we scanned through some of the more interesting sites in the area. "It's a little bit out of our way, but thanks to Dale Earnhardt Jr. over here, I'm sure we have plenty of time available." Alice was poking fun at Edward, like she had taken to doing during our entire lunch. Apparently she was still in awe that we arrived in Montpelier so quickly, but I wasn't complaining since I was frigging starving.

As I munched on my cobb salad and stole French fries from Edward's plate, we all agreed that the Maple Syrup Museum sounded like a good idea, so once we had finished, we picked up a few snacks and supplies from the 7-Eleven across the street and then headed on the road. Edward wanted some time to relax, so I offered to drive since I was finally feeling wide awake. As Alice and Jasper sat in the backseat, researching places for us to stay in Albany, Edward searched through the iPod to try to find something suitable to listen to. He ended up selecting 'Passenger Side' by Wilco as the first song, which pleased me to no end, although the lyrics were a bit ironic seeing as Edward was sitting on the passenger side.

_Hey, wake up  
Your eyes weren't open wide  
For the last couple of miles  
You've been swerving from side to side  
You're gonna make me spill my beer  
If you don't learn how to steer_

Passenger side  
Passenger side  
I don't like riding  
On the passenger side

Three hours later and we were wandering away from the Museum with aching stomachs. We took the tour, watched the slide show, checked out the dioramas and most of important of all… sampled the goodies. Alice ended up buying a ton of syrup which she was having shipped back to her parents place in Boston. "If it comes on the road, I'll be putting bottles of it in my purse and dousing everything in its sugary goodness. I'd be like Buddy from 'Elf'," laughed Alice as I pictured her pulling a small bottle of syrup from the arm of her shirt and pouring it on spaghetti.

I was in the driver's seat for the ride from Rutland to Albany. Jasper tried to get us to stop at some taxidermy museum to see all the stuffed road kill, but it was almost half an hour out of the way. Even though Edward had saved us an hour in the morning, I was stuck behind some traffic on the highway and we were quickly falling behind.

"Okay, so we're camping tonight," said Alice with an anxious sigh. Camping was something she had hoped to avoid at all costs, but it seemed unavoidable. "Turns out there is some huge fricking lacrosse tournament in Albany this weekend and there are like no rooms available anywhere, so we are off to Saugerties for the night."

I could already sense that Alice was cringing at the thought of actually using the tent that she and Jasper had picked out. I was thankful that it had two rooms, but it would suck because that meant sex was definitely out of the question. We stopped at a Target en route to the campground so that we could pick up some food for dinner, bug spray and two air mattresses. We hadn't considered them a necessity before, probably because no one thought we would actually camp.

"Grab one of those long bendy poles and shove it through the hole," I called out to Jasper as he open mouth gawked at me while I tried to show him how to put the tent together. Apparently I was a freak of nature to the city kids because I could pitch a fucking tent. In fact, every time I called it 'pitching a tent' Jasper and Edward would giggle simply because of its other meaning.

We had arrived at the campground at around six o'clock and we had been trying for almost thirty minutes to put up the damned tent. Edward was currently taking a drive to the local hardware store for a hammer, the one thing we had forgotten we needed.

"This has been the longest day ever," I said with a sigh as I watched Edward attempt to use a foot pump to blow up our air mattress. By the time he had come back from the hardware store, I had managed to put the tent up myself and he nailed the stakes in place, feeling like the king of the world.

"It was an adventure of sorts," laughed Edward as he kept pumping. We could hear Jasper and Alice arguing clear as day on the next side of the tent about how to properly blow up the air mattress and even though I should just tell them how to do it, I really wanted them to learn how to rough it. "Any idea what we want to do tomorrow?"

"While you were gone, Alice and Jasper basically watched me pitch the tent," I started to say as Edward and Jasper both started to giggle again. "Anyways, Alice mentioned driving to Niagara Falls. We can't cross to the Canadian side without our passports, but we can still do some of touristy shit and what not." Edward simply nodded his head and I grabbed a hold of the mattress to see how full it was getting.

"A few more pumps," I said with a grin as I heard Jasper laugh from the other side again. "Seriously Jazzie, are you suddenly ten?"

"Bella… I think you should take everything I say for the next and turn it into a sexual context and tell me you won't be laughing after a while," added Jasper with another chuckle as I rolled my eyes. Edward smiled at me easily as he continued to press his foot against the pump.

Unfortunately, Jasper had been right about the sexual connotations you could find in every day conversations. I found myself laughing slightly when he told Alice to simply 'blow it harder' or when he added that 'she needs to be filled more'. I know he was talking about the air mattress that they were still trying to blow up after almost forty minutes, but regardless, it was funny.

"Good night John Boy," called out Jasper to Edward as we all curled up in our sleeping bags and Jasper shut off the lantern.

"Good night Mary Ellen," Edward retorted as I laughed at their exchange. Unfortunately, even though we were all curled up in our sleeping bags, no one was going to sleep. Edward and I had zipped our sleeping bags together so that we could sleep close to each other, which made the entire experience of sleeping on an air mattress a little bit bearable.

"Alice, remind me, when do you and Jasper have to go back to New York?" I called out quietly as I heard some rustling from their side of the tent. Edward was rolled on his side, his head buried into my neck and his leg draped over mine. His breathing was getting deeper so I knew he would be asleep sooner rather than later.

"We're supposed to hit Chicago in three weeks, and Jaz and I will probably fly out with Rosalie and Emmett when they head home. My classes start in four weeks, so I will have a few days back home to get settled again before starting my final semester," explained Alice as I lay peacefully, staring up at the roof of the tent and listening to the crickets.

"Where are two going after we leave?" asked Alice, with a sleepy tone to her voice. I was probably keeping her awake, but I wasn't exactly tired yet and ached for the conversation.

"We're going to cross the plains and head to Forks. My mom wants us to stay for at least a week and I know my dad wants to get Edward out onto the boat. Then I think we're heading down the coast to California. One of Edward's classmates, Ethan, has settled in L.A. so I think we might crash on his couch for a day or two," I said, noticing I didn't sound overly excited. I know I had mentioned the idea of driving across the country to Edward a while ago, but I never thought he would remember, nor did I think we would ever do it.

It was almost a perfectly timed second later when Jasper started to snore and both Alice and I groaned. "I guess we should have slept first because now we'll never get to sleep," she sighed as I nodded my head in the darkness. I should have definitely fallen asleep sooner.


	7. Saugerties, NY to Springfield, IL

**A/N: I totally loved writing this chapter, so I hope you guys like it too. Thanks again for all your patience while I was busy writing my new story 'Love Will Come Through' and 'Cabin Fever'. You guys are truly awesome with your reviews and I would go out and hug each and every one of you, if I wasn't worried about your cooties. Just kidding.**

**Anyways, I'm hosting a BQQ in a hour, so I should get on that shit. Have a great afternoon! Enjoy the read.**

**I don't own twilight, but I do have a shitty BBQ just aching for some hamburgers, sausage and hot dogs.**

**Song for Chapter 7: Taking the Long Way - The Dixie Chicks**

**EPOV**

Niagara Falls led way to Pittsburgh and then Cleveland, Detroit and Columbus. A week later and we were heading through Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis; with a one day stop in Bloomington because Jasper wanted to try to find John Mellencamp. After Bella and I both accused him of being on crack because he made us drive through the entire town for five hours, he finally gave up and we continued on to Indianapolis.

While in Pittsburgh we saw Andy Warhol's stuffed Great Dane, while inside the Andy Warhol museum, which Bella loved. She kept saying it was her favorite part of the trip, but I figured that was because we hadn't made it to any art galleries yet and Chicago was still a few days away. I knew she would love Chicago the most. In Cleveland, where we ended up spending two days, we spent half of our time inside the Rock and Roll Museum, where we ended up losing Jasper for almost three hours. Apparently he went out back and smoked up with three janitors he met near the Bob Marley exhibit. Only Jasper could manage that shit.

We spent a night in a grain silo down near Akron that had been converted to a hotel that Bella and I found fascinating, while Alice seemed a little put out. I didn't care though, since she had been calling the shots on the trip since day one. Alice and Jasper lost a bet and they allowed us to pick what we wanted to do for two whole days, including where we slept and we clearly won. That was also the last time they will challenge Bella to eat anything. The girl might be tiny, but she packs a huge appetite.

Today though, we were off to the tiny town of Gays, Illinois. Even the name made Jasper and I giggle like school children. Jasper has been beside himself for two days since Alice mentioned we would be going to a two story outhouse. "Did you know they have an outhouse tour, where you can specifically tour various outhouses around the country?" he asked excitedly from the back seat.

"Um… no. Who the hell would want to tour outhouses… other than you of course," asked Bella as she sat in the passenger seat beside me, navigating us down highway 70 and playing with my iPod. We were currently listening to 'The Perishers' and I watched intently as Bella sang along quietly beside me.

"Well Bella, if there is an outhouse tour, Jasper clearly isn't the only one off his hinges," I added as I heard Jasper groan at me from the back seat.

"Outhouse... the tourism industry… who would have thought?" finished Bella as I watched her lay her head back against the seat. "When we pull into Terre Haute, can we find a Wal-Mart or something?" she asked nervously as I watched her tap her fingers against the window.

"Sure. I'm assuming you two are cool with a Wal-Mart break?" I asked Alice and Jasper, who were apparently trying to smother each other with their faces. I heard a grunt from the backseat and simply assumed they were fine with everything.

We had at least an hour to go until we reached Terre Haute, so Bella and I started talking about anything we could come up with as we tried to drown out the slurping noises coming from the backseat. "Can you believe it's been over three weeks since we left New York?" she asked with a slight smile as she rested her feet on the dashboard of the Yukon, her shoes now resting on the floor.

"It certainly doesn't feel like three weeks. I can hardly believe we'll be in Chicago tomorrow to see Rosalie and Emmett. You must be excited to finally touch base with her about the wedding plans?" I asked supportively. Bella and Rosalie had talked several times a week regarding the wedding and Rosalie was apparently getting more excited now that she had picked out colors. None of this stuff made a lick of difference to me, but I was trying to be supportive of Bella in her role as Maid of Honor.

"If I am being honest, all her wedding plans made me a bit nauseous. I mean, who needs 300 people to come to their damned wedding. When we eventually get married, I'll be happy if it's you and me and some minister," she said genuinely as I reached over and grasped her hand in mine.

"I'll remember that, eventually," I said with a smile as I thought about the ring still hidden safely in my luggage. Every time I looked at it, I felt nervous because I knew I wanted to propose to her in Forks, but that was still a few weeks away. I was definitely over thinking the proposal, but I wanted everything to be perfect. I used to dream of taking her back to Europe to propose, but since I wouldn't wait that long, I was hell bent that I was going to ask her this summer, before we got back to New York.

Bella seemed nervous as we pulled into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart and she pulled Alice from the backseat with her. "I need to go get some girly things," she said with a wink towards me as I noticed her hand tighten around Alice's.

"Oh," I said anxiously, knowing full well when she called it 'girly things' she meant tampons. "Jasper and I are gonna go get some snacks and another foot pump to replace the one he broke in Ohio."

I watched as Bella nodded her head before she gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. She and Alice wandered to the left in the store and Jasper and I turned right. At least she wasn't making me buy girly things with her.

**BPOV**

"Calm down Bella. The tampons aren't going anywhere," said Alice as I noticed her little feet moving as fast as they could. I just wanted to get out of earshot of Edward.

"I don't fucking need tampons," I mumbled as we finally slipped down one of the pharmacy aisles and she stopped in her tracks.

"Then why the mad dash to get here," she sighed as she slipped her hands on her hips.

"I'm late."

"For what?" she asked curiously before her move fell open and she pulled her head out of her ass, realizing my problem. "How late?"

"Almost a week."

"No shit. Well let's get you some tests," she added sweetly as we slowly found our way over to the aisle with the pregnancy tests and she tossed a couple in my direction. "Here, try this one, it's digital."

I groaned as Alice filled my hands with five different tests, all of them different and all of them very overwhelming. When I noticed two days ago that I was late, I chalked it up to being sick a few weeks ago, but then I remembered that my period was usually like clockwork thanks to the medication my doctor had put me on three years ago. I only realized it two days ago, but based on everything I knew about my body, I was actually five days late. _This could not be happening, could it?_

"Where are we going to do this?" she asked supportively as I looked down at all the boxes in my hands.

"I don't know," I admitted sadly as I felt her arm slip behind my shoulder.

"Bella, Edward loves you more than anything in this world. If you are pregnant, he'll love it. Hell, I'm sure he's already got names picked out for future kids, so calm down. Let's find out if it's true first. You'll always have the support of me and Rosalie, even though she'll probably be mad that you'll need to wear a maternity gown for her wedding, but oh well," laughed Alice as I imagined telling Rosalie about the pregnancy and watching her head pop off in aggravation.

"I'm not worried about whether he loves me, I'm worried about what happens if this is positive," I said as I waved one of the boxes in front of her. "Are we actually ready to be parents? We don't even have plants because we keep killing them," I sighed as she squeezed my shoulder supportively.

"Well then, we'll get a plant next. Maybe even a cat, to prove that you can handle a baby. You two have handled everything else life has thrown at you, why not a baby?" said Alice with a grin. Apparently she was warming up to the idea of Edward and I having a baby, but I wasn't. I had a great job awaiting me back in New York, which would only get screwed up by me walking in there on the first day and telling them I'll be gone in seven months to give birth to the first Cullen grandchild.

"Our parents will kill us," I said nervously as Alice smiled at me with a wide grin.

"My parents won't. Esme has been trying to find a way to marry you and Edward off as soon as humanly possible. You should have heard them discussing wedding plans at your commencement."I guess she was right. Our parents were ready for us to get married, but I don't think they were prepared to become grandparents.

"Can you go distract Edward and Jasper for five minutes while I pay for all of these?" I asked genuinely. Alice nodded her head as she danced towards the sporting goods section to find the boys. I stepped to the first open cashier reluctantly and tried to ignore her gaze as she looked down at all the pregnancy tests on the counter. She was acting as if I was the first person to ever buy one. I handed her the fifty dollar bill, snatched my change back and ran to the SUV in a flash to hide the tests.

As I was walking back into the store, I saw Edward, Jasper and Alice all walking out, their purchases in their hands. "What are you doing out here?" asked Edward curiously as he opened the trunk of the SUV and put their bags inside.

"I was putting my bag in the car. I know how nervous you get around 'girly things'" I said with a nervous chuckle as I watched him tense up again. I hopped into the passenger seat and waited for everyone in the back to get settled. As we turned back onto the highway, my mind was racing as I tried to think of where the hell to take the damned tests. I was desperate to know the results, but I honestly couldn't tell my boyfriend that I had taken the test in a Wal-Mart bathroom. What a great story to tell the grandkids one day, I snorted to myself as Edward turned his head to look at me.

"Everything alright?"

"Just peachy," I lied as I thought about the bag of tests hidden beneath my seat. Every so often I would glance back at Alice in the rear view mirror and for once she looked as concerned as I always thought she should be. Perhaps she was wondering where the hell I would take the test too.

**EPOV**

It took us just over an hour and half before we pulled into the small grassy area outside of the two-story outhouse in Gays, Illinois. "It's spectacular," exclaimed Jasper as he hopped from the car simply bursting with excitement.

"It's a two story white clapboard shitter, how exciting can it be?" I asked with a laugh as I watched Alice and Bella whisper to each other, most likely making fun of Jasper.

"This is a masterpiece of toilet art," said Jasper as the rest of us all groaned. Seeing as this was now our third multi-level toilet since the trip started, none of us were impressed anymore. If anything, it was now just getting annoying. Alice thrust her camera at me and insisted I take a few pictures of Jasper.

"Why aren't you doing it?" I asked curiously as I watched her walk away from me looking both nervous and angry.

"Cause I need to go take a piss and these bathrooms don't actually work. Now take a fucking picture of my stupid boyfriend. Bella… care to join me?" added Alice as I watched both girls grab their purses and head into the woods directly across the street from the outhouse.

I snapped a few photos of Jasper, who insisted on climbing up to the second story, even though there weren't actually any steps. "Did you see this thing dates back to 1872? I don't believe that. It looks too new," said Jasper, clearly not concerned that our girlfriends had just wandered into the woods to take a piss together.

"I don't believe that either," I said casually as I took a few more photos. Once we were done, we moved over to the small sign board which had details about the outhouse and Jasper took a few photos as he read every single word on the board, aloud. "Do you think it's weird they went to the bathroom together in the woods?"

"No. Don't girls usually do that shit together?" said Jasper non-chalantly.

"I suppose so, but they seem to be taking a long time."

"Maybe Alice is having performance anxiety. She gets that way sometimes. Once she had to go really bad, but she couldn't because I was in the bathroom taking a shower. I kept telling her to just come in, but she waited impatiently just because she couldn't piss with other people around. She's weird," added Jasper as I felt even more concerned than before.

"Well if she can't piss with people around, why the fuck would she take Bella with her?"

"Safety man. Perhaps she was worried about raccoons or something," sighed Jasper. I was about to say something else when we noticed the girls walk out from the forest, both of them looking pale. "See… they're fine, so stop worrying about it. All they did was pee."

When we got back into the car, Alice and Bella insisted on sitting in the backseat together, which was the first time in three weeks that had happened. They seemed to be texting together in the back and even though I tried to ignore them, it was hard to focus on the road. I glanced down at the clock and it was almost two in the afternoon. Alice handed us the bag of snacks from Wal-Mart and while Jasper and I started to chow down on a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, Alice and Bella however, began eating the bag of rice cakes that Alice had insisted on buying when she found us in the chip aisle at Wal-Mart. Bella hated rice cakes.

**BPOV**

"Bella, we can go into the woods to pee and take the tests," Alice whispered to me as we watched Jasper gush over the newest two story outhouse we had found.

"This is a masterpiece of toilet art," said Jasper as we all groaned in response to his enthusiasm. The two story outhouses were getting old, but Alice's idea was perfect. As perfect as it was going to get anyway. I had shoved the tests into my purse after Edward had gotten out of the SUV, so now all I needed was a place to do them.

"Why aren't you doing it?" Edward questioned Alice after she shoved her camera against his chest and insisted that he take pictures of Jasper and his awe-inspiring toilet.

"Cause I need to go take a piss and these bathrooms don't actually work. Now take a fucking picture of my stupid boyfriend. Bella… care to join me?" she added as I simply nodded my head and followed her across the street to the small wooded area that Alice thought was suitable for this. The closer we got, the more I thought I should have done it in the Wal-Mart bathroom.

"Okay, so how many tests did you buy?" asked Alice once we were a few hundred feet in. I couldn't see the outhouse anymore, which was a good sign.

"Four," I said solemnly. My heart was beating out of my chest and I desperately wanted to throw up, but I mustered up all the strength I could to continue. "You open them all up and stand on the other side of the tree. When I tell you to, you hand them to me and I will take them."

"Okay boss," said Alice as she started to rip open the packages one at a time. Each test looked the exact same, yet different. Some were digital, some were blue, some were white, but they all held my future in their hands. I wasn't sure I wanted to trust my future to some thick looking popsicle sticks. "Let me know when you are ready."

I stepped behind the huge tree and nervously pulled down my pants as I crouched behind the tree. "Okay, let's do this."

Five minutes later, we stared at the four tests lying on the ground in front of me.

"What are you going to do?" asked Alice as she nervously paced behind me.

"The last test hasn't revealed its fate yet," I replied apprehensively. "Perhaps it will be different."

"Yeah, maybe it will get up and do a little dance as it screams out that you are pregnant, instead of the others that just read 'pregnant'" stated Alice firmly as I heard a slight chuckle slip from her lips. "Face it Bella, you're gonna be a mommy."

I slumped down against another tree and put my face in my hands as I clutched my knees against my body. "Don't you think it's a wee bit ironic that you are curling up in the fetal position?" laughed Alice as I looked up at her with a death stare. "Okay, not funny."

"Of course it's not funny. This wasn't part of the plan. The plan was to start our jobs, get married, buy a house and then have a baby closer to when I was thirty, not when I was twenty two." I sighed before I started to cry. Alice curled up beside me and wrapped her arms around my body.

"People do this all the time Bella. You and Edward at least have love on your side. If it helps, you're going to be twenty three in a few months and Edward will be twenty three in two days," said Alice as she tried to console me. All I could think about though was how our plans had flown out the fucking window. "Can I ask one question though… I thought you were on the pill?"

"I was… I am… When I was sick Edward was filling me with god knows how many different kinds of drugs to make me feel better and if everything I figure it right, it happened then. On the first night in the cabin… on your bed." The moment the words came out of my mouth, Alice looked at me incredulously.

"You guys fucked in our bed?"

"Well, you and Jaz fucked in the SUV right? When you claimed to go to the store?" I asked in response as she rolled her eyes and then smiled. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I bet the boys are getting concerned. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it doesn't take ten minutes to take a piss in the woods," laughed Alice as she helped me up from my seat against the tree and I wiped the branches and dirt from my ass. I threw all the tests in to the Wal-Mart bag and threw them in the garbage can beside the outhouse, once we had gotten back.

Edward pulled me into a big hug the moment we joined them back at the outhouse as Jasper began to tell us all out the outhouse, which he insisted was over a hundred years old though we didn't believe him. "Do you guys mind if Alice and I sit together in the back seat?" I asked sweetly as they both shook their heads and Jasper jumped into the passenger seat eagerly. I was certain that he just wanted to mess with the music and I was right, because the moment we were on the road, he started singing along to the 'Doobie Brothers'.

I watched as Alice pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and then whispered for me to do the same. Since we couldn't talk about everything, apparently we were resorting to texting each other.

_Alice: When are you going to tell Edward?_

_Bella: Can I wait till the baby pops out? _I heard her giggle quietly before finally typing on her keypad.

_Alice: I think he might notice before that. I hear your boobs will get huge, he'll love that._

_Bella: Great, my reason for keeping the baby… huge hooters._

_Alice: Are you thinking about not keeping it???? _

_Bella: Of course I'm keeping it. Even if Edward doesn't want it, I'm keeping it. I love it already even though it's barely the size of a peanut._

_Alice: Phew, you had me worried there for a moment._

_Bella: I need to see a doctor. I think I will wait until Forks. What's a few weeks right?_

_Alice: Okay, but you need to tell Edward soon. He's smart, he'll figure out something when you stop drinking and eating sushi._

_Bella: I have to stop drinking? Fuck me._

_Alice: That's what got you into this problem in the first place._

_Bella: Does this mean you're going to start keeping your legs shut? I thought that was a physical impossibility._

_Alice: Oh it is. It just means Jasper and I will have to be extra careful about keeping his trouser snake under wraps._

_Bella: Thanks for that image. I think I might be sick._

Alice and I texted for the remainder of the trip, which luckily was only two hours, until we pulled into the parking lot of our hotel in Springfield, Illinois. We both had a huge laugh half way through the drive when Jasper found a country music station on the radio after he was bored of his iPod. The song was 'The Long Way Around' by the Dixie Chicks.

"How fucking ironic," laughed Alice loudly as Jasper and Edward looked back at us and we simply kept singing along with the music.

_My friends from high school  
Married their high school boyfriends  
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes  
Where their parents live_I was about to become a mom… and I was definitely taking the long way around.

But I, I could never follow  
No I, I could never follow

I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling  
Lived like a gypsy  
Six strong hands on the steering wheel

I've been a long time gone now  
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down  
But I've always found my way somehow

By taking the long way  
Taking the long way around  
Taking the long way  
Taking the long way around


	8. Springfield, IL to Chicago, IL

**A/N: Holy hell… two updates from two different stories in a matter of minutes… this is why coldplaywhore never sleeps LOL.**

**I'm not gonna write much of an A/N since I'm eager to find out what everyone thinks of the chapter, and I need to go make dinner. Shout outs to the usual crew who review every damned chapter and MaggieMay14 for encouraging my madness.**

**I don't own twilight but I do own 5 cabbage patch kids which my daughter loves to strip naked. I only want Rob Pattinson stripped naked… mmm *drools on keyboard***

**Song for Chapter 8: You're having my baby by Paul Anka (did you know his daughter is married to Jason Bateman? ahh.. teen wolf 2)**

**EPOV**

I couldn't believe it was already June 20th, my twenty third birthday. I felt old, even though I really wasn't. Perhaps I simply felt old because I had slept on a very uncomfortable mattress at a Red Roof Inn in Springfield, Illinois. As we were packing up, Bella and Alice made a quick run down to the store to pick up a few necessities as Jasper and I sat in my room for a few minutes and watched CNN.

When the girls finally returned, they both looked anxious, but I tried not to worry about it. We went down the street to the local IHOP and had a quick breakfast before hopping into the SUV and heading up to Chicago. We were supposed to check into the hotel by three in the afternoon and we had to be at O'Hare to pick up Rosalie and Emmett by six, so things were going smoothly until Jasper got in the driver's seat and insisted on taking the long way to Chicago through Champaign instead of Bloomington.

"Had enough searching for John Mellencamp?" asked Bella with a giggle as we pulled out of the parking lot of the restaurant and we were finally on our way to Chicago.

"I didn't think Edward here wanted to spend his entire birthday driving, so we're making a little stop… an adventure if you will," laughed Jasper as Bella and I looked at each other curiously. Whenever Jasper had mentioned an adventure during the trip, it had usually ended up with someone either drunk or injured. I wasn't exactly looking forward to his latest adventure.

"I'll give you your birthday gift later… when we're alone," Bella said with a wink as she curled up next to me and ended up falling asleep only ten minutes later. We weren't even on the highway yet when we all chuckled at the low snoring coming from her.

"She's been sleeping more than ever lately," commented Jasper as I watched Alice punch him in the shoulder curiously.

"Yeah, I guess so. Traveling takes a lot of out of a person," I replied coolly as Alice turned up the Led Zeppelin that was playing on the radio and I let the sounds of D'yer Maker drown out their weirdness. We were almost back in the town of Gays, where we had only yesterday seen the two story outhouse, when Jasper turned onto a different road and Alice started giggling. "Are you guys going to tell me where we are going?" I asked curiously as Bella finally stirred against my leg and yawned.

"Alice told me a story from your childhood and I figured since it was your birthday, we should relive some of your life," said Jasper cryptically as I glanced between the two of them who were still laughing. I was beyond confused. Less than ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of the 'Raggedy Ann and Andy Musuem' in Arcola, Illinois.

"Thanks Alice," I said with a sigh as Jasper parked the Yukon and everyone hopped out easily, with the exception of Bella who still looked pretty tired.

"I'm gonna go find the bathroom, I need to pee," she said genuinely as she walked inside quickly, with Alice close to her heels. Jasper and I locked up the SUV and headed inside, even though I was reluctant to do it.

"When Alice mentioned you had a Raggedy Andy doll that you used to drag around like a fucking caveman, we had to stop man. We saw it on the net last night and she instantly broke out into a fit of laughter and reminded me of the story she had mentioned years ago. Don't worry though, no one else needs to know about your doll fetish," he muttered through his laughter as we walked through the beginning of the museum. "I'm just gonna add one more thing, this place is kinda creepy."

Five minutes later the girls finally walked out of the bathroom, arm in arm and started to whisper to each other as they wandered through the museum curiously. When we finally caught up to them, I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist and held her tightly against me. "You're not dumping me for my sister are you? You guys have seemed really secretive today," I asked anxiously as Bella simply kissed my cheek.

"Of course not. I would think you would want me to get along with Alice," she said with a laugh. "Anyways, if I was to leave you for a woman, it would be Rosalie. She looks like she'd be a spitfire in the sack," she said with a nervous smile as I heard Jasper start choking behind us. "No offence Alice."

"None taken honey. I'd want to be with Rosie too," she said with a wink at Bella as I groaned at the image of the two of them together. I hadn't had that thought since we visited my parents a few years earlier and borrowed the company jet to get back home, only to find them making out in an attempt to torture Emmett and I.

Twenty minutes later, we were back on the highway and headed off to Chicago. We made a quick detour in Paxton for lunch after Bella complained of being starving, even though we had eaten only three hours earlier. After a quick smack from Alice, Jasper eventually pulled over and we ate at a small deli in the center of town, which seemed to placate Bella's hunger.

We pulled into the hotel just before three and while Alice and Bella ran ahead to check us in, Jasper and I handed our luggage off to the bellboy and followed the girls in as Jasper threw the valet our keys. "Bella is probably gonna bitch and moan about how fancy the hotel is." I explained to Jasper as we walked through the lobby of the Hotel Allegro in downtown Chicago. "She always bitched in Europe when I tried to get us nice rooms and shit."

"Dude, it's been four fucking years and you guys have been on a ton of vacations. I'm sure she's over all that crap by now," said Jasper as we watched Alice and Bella stroll towards us, the keys to our separate rooms dangling from their hands.

"Let's go," said Bella as I wrapped my hand around her shoulder and let her lead the way up to our room. "You boys will have to leave around five to go pick up Emmett and Rosalie." I sighed at the thought but followed Bella closely as we stepped off of the elevator and onto our floor. Alice and Jasper were on the floor above us, thank god.

When we walked into the room, I had to smile at the huge king sized bed with plush blue headboard and bright white bedding. It looked so inviting, that I swooped Bella up and tossed her on the bed playfully. "What was that for?" she asked with a grin as I hovered above her and kissed her passionately, my hands now fumbling with the buttons on her shorts.

"Saving time… I only have an hour and a half till I need to leave and I'm not sure if that's enough time," I said breathlessly as I stood up and yanked her shorts and panties down in one quick move. "Weren't you saying something about a birthday gift earlier?"

"It wasn't this… although I'm not complaining," said Bella with a seductive smirk as she pulled off my belt and tossed it on the couch. I pushed my shorts down as quickly as I could before climbing onto the bed to unbutton her shirt.

"Did I ever mention that every day I'm in awe that you love me," I said sweetly as I pushed open her shirt and began to pepper small kisses across her chest. When I moved down to her stomach, I felt her tense up slightly but it quickly disappeared as he fingers ran through my hair, tugging gently.

I kneeled on the floor in front of her and pulled her body right to the edge, her legs bent at the knees and back against the edge, which left her wetness completely open for me. I ran my finger along the length of her slit first before I kissed her folds gently. "Oh fuck Edward," she groaned as my tongue found purchase on her clit and I began to circle it softly. "So fucking good…"

I continued my oral assault on her until she finally clenched her body and came all over my tongue, leaving me smug about my oral abilities. I was going to go slow and sweet with her, but after hearing her moan my name for the past few minutes, I simply grabbed her hips and thrust inside quickly, which she still laid open against the edge of the bed. I watched with eager anticipation as her hands gripped the bed tightly and I plunged my cock inside of her. "This is better than any other birthday gift," I groaned out as she shook her head back and forth in ecstasy.

"Harder baby, harder…" she screamed out as I moved against her faster, lifting her ass off the bed to get deeper inside of her pussy. "Oh fuck yes," she shouted mere moments later as she came down hard, causing my own release as she came.

_Knock knock_

"Who the fuck is that?" called Bella as she jumped off the bed and ran towards the bathroom. I pulled my pants back on and was surprised to find out bellman standing there, clutching both of our bags. I had completely forgotten. I pulled a five dollar bill from my pocket and thrust it at him as he walked away smiling broadly.

"It was our luggage Bella," I yelled out to her as I walked towards the bathroom and knocked softly on the door. "Are you okay baby?"

"Yeah, just fine. Just freshening up," she said as I heard the faucet turn on and I strolled towards the couch where I sat down comfortably and almost fell asleep. I felt the couch compress as Bella curled up beside me and wrapped her arms around me. "I don't want to go get Emmett and Rosalie."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't want you to go get them either," she said sweetly as she rested her head against my stomach and clutched me tightly to her. "I also don't want to go out for dinner with everyone tonight. Do you think they'll be pissed if we cancel the birthday celebration?"

I rubbed my head slowly as I was torn, I wanted to go out and celebrate my birthday with my family and friends, but I also wanted to just stay home and bury myself in my future fiancé. Shit, I still needed to ask her to marry me.

"If you two are fucking again, I'm going to be royally pissed," we heard through the door almost an hour later. Shit.

"Jasper, we fell asleep… hold on a second," I called back as Bella stretched her arms over her head. "If you want to sleep, why don't you crawl into bed? I'll talk to Emmett, Rose and Jaz about postponing our party till tomorrow night," I offered sweetly as Bella nodded her head. I tossed my t-shirt back on and grabbed my wallet as I opened the door and found Jasper standing there in a pair of Winnie the Pooh pajama pants.

"Let's go. Chicago traffic at rush hour is going to be a killer," he said as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me from the room.

"I love you," I called to Bella as the door shut behind me and I glanced down at his pants again. "Winnie the Pooh… seriously?"

"Shut up. Alice got them for me and they're comfy as fuck."

**BPOV**

The moment after Jasper and Edward left our hotel room; I called up Alice and asked her to come down to my room for a few minutes. Of course, she jumped at the chance after our crazy morning together. When I woke up, we ran down to the local pharmacy to pick up a container of pre-natal vitamins, which was something she read online that I needed to start taking immediately. We had also purchased a container of regular women's vitamins and poured those out into the garbage outside of the pharmacy as we refilled the container with the pre-natal pills. We had giggled incessantly about it, feeling like spies or something, but I wasn't ready to tell Edward yet. Not after I had barely come to grips with it myself.

Then after breakfast, I found myself nauseous and the moment we reached the creepy doll museum I practically sprinted like Usain Bolt into the bathroom to toss up my French toast. Alice, of course, was by my side the entire time supporting me. "You do realize Edward should be here holding your hair back right?" she asked as she stroked my back and listened to me yak into a public toilet.

"Yeah, I know," I muttered lowly. "I was thinking of telling him tonight. You know, as a birthday gift of sorts. 'Happy Birthday baby… you knocked me up'. I thought he would take it well," I said as I laughed at the image.

"He'll be so excited when your breasts start getting bigger," said Alice with a grin as I suddenly frowned at her and stood from the floor.

"Doesn't he like my breasts?" I asked as I closed my hands over them. He'd never once mentioned being unsatisfied by the girls.

"no, he never said anything Bella. All guys love big breasts. This will just be an added bonus for Edward," she said, trying to backtrack on her previous statement. He better not of said anything bad about them, I muttered to myself as we splashed water on my face and headed back to join the men.

Mere hours later, I was starving though no one else was. Then again, no one else had thrown up their breakfast. Thankfully, Alice forced Jasper to pull over in some small town and I ended up getting a huge sandwich at their local deli. I wasn't having any cravings, but god damn they had good pickles there.

So here we now sat, alone in my hotel room while Alice contemplated baby names. "I like Brandon," she said with a laugh as I poked her on the shoulder. "What? so I think it's going to be a boy, cut me some slack."

"How about you help me think of a way to tell Edward and then we'll go from there, okay?" I asked genuinely as she nodded her head and pulled out her laptop. She searched through several different websites and clearly didn't find anything of interest.

"You can always order a bunch of tiny food at dinner… no that sucks. We can always run down the street to the store. I saw a baby boutique and I bet we can find a cute little onesie or something that says 'I love daddy' or something equally cheesy," she offered with a grin as I shook my head. They must have something decent at the baby boutique.

"I could wrap it up and give it to him for his birthday," I stated proudly as Alice ran from the room to go get her purse. I texted Edward to let him know Alice and I were going shopping so that he didn't freak out and we met down in the lobby five minutes later, Alice bouncing with excitement at the prospect of going shopping.

Twenty minutes later and we were inside a small baby boutique that had some of the most adorable clothes. "If you find out it's a boy, I am so ordering this set for him," said Alice excitedly as she held up a small set which included a onesie, beanie and booties which all said 'boob man.'"

"Edward would love that," I said with a grin as I started to search through the racks for something appropriate for a girl or a boy, seeing as it was a wee bit early to determine what we were having. I grabbed a really cute stuffed elephant and held it tightly as I continued to find something perfect, slowly finding myself getting frustrated as Alice wandered over with a handful of suggestions.

"What about this one… it says 'Party in my crib, 3 a.m.'?"

"Next," I said with a giggle as she laid it down on the counter behind us.

"Okay, this one says 'Milk Junkie'… that could work right?" she asked curiously as I shook my head.

"Next."

"This one's cute and screams Edward," said Alice excitedly as she held up a onesie that said 'Daddy drinks because I cry.'"

"Okay, that one's a maybe." I said as I nodded my head and she tossed it at me. The next two were also possibilities; one looked like a tattoo that said 'dad' and the other was simple and just said 'I love my daddy.' I ended up buying all three of them and the stuffed elephant because I couldn't make up my mind. We passed by Hallmark on the way back and stopped for a birthday card and a gift bag to put all this mess into.

Thankfully, when we got back to the hotel, no one else was there yet, so while I filled out the card, Alice helped me decide which onesie to use. She was leaning towards the drinking one, where as I liked the simple one. "Give him all of them and the damned elephant. They all fit into the bag right? Plus knowing Edward it will take him three onesies to figure out what the hell you are trying to tell him," she said with a laugh as we heard the door unlock and I ran the bag into the bathroom to finish it up.

"Hey Alice, where's Bella?" he asked as he walked into the room, his voice sounding upset to find Alice instead of me.

"She had to take a leak," said Alice crassly as I giggled quietly in the bathroom. As soon as I had the gift finished, I shoved it in the cupboard under the counter and stepped back into living room, to a welcome hug from Edward.

"Where's Em and Rose?" I asked curiously as Alice stood from the couch and headed towards the door.

"They are getting checked in. It turns out Rose has a bit of a headache and they want to pass on dinner, so we agreed in the car to do dinner by ourselves and meet up in the morning at 10 in the lobby. Is that okay?" asked Edward as he rubbed my back softly and I nodded happily.

"I'll see you guys in the morning then. I have some Winnie the Pooh pants to rip off my boyfriend," she said with a sly grin as she strode from the room, bouncing eagerly. "Let me know how the evening goes Bella."

I watched the door for a moment after it closed and Edward wrapped his arm around my waist gingerly, "Do you want to call room service for something? I think I'd rather stay in and spend the night with you," he said sweetly as I nodded my head and walked over to the table where the room service menu was sitting. I scanned through everything, but nothing seemed appetizing so I finally ordered a soup and sandwich, while Edward went all out and ordered a surf and turf platter.

We cuddled on the couch while waiting for dinner, my heart beating erradictly as I wondered when to give him his gift. He told me about their misadventures at the airport and how they get lost trying to park and decided to just go to the arrivals area and stay there till Emmett and Rose walked out, both of whom looked angry as hell.

"No wonder she had a headache," I said with a sigh as I felt Edward's hands stroking my hair tenderly.

"I think she had a headache because Emmett's pressuring her for a dog," laughed Edward as I raised my hand and laid it gently over his heart. He never even noticed the gesture. "They live in a tiny apartment and he wants to get a Great Pyrenees. The thing would be the size of their couch."

I laughed for a moment at the image of Emmett taking his couch for a walk and then felt yet another wave of nausea hit me. Wasn't this shit supposed to only be in the morning? I reminded myself to ask Alice to Google that shit in the morning until I got to a doctor. I jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom, claiming to Edward that I really had to pee and I hoped that the volume of the TV would cover any noises I made while hurling into the toilet.

I wandered out ten minutes later to find that dinner had already arrived. Thank god I got soup,I thought to myself as I watched Edward chow down on his dinner. It was like one of that creepy slow motion scene from the Return of the King where Denathor is eating his dinner while Pippin sings some sad song and a huge battle is breaking out. It was that odd... and left my sick to my stomach again. I ran back to the bathroom, forgetting to close the door and hurled the rest of my stomach contents into the toilet.

"What the fuck is wrong Bella?" asked Edward as he sprinted into the bathroom behind me and began to rub my back. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No," I replied sadly as I grabbed a towel from the back of the toilet and cleaned off my face. I slowly opened the cupboard beneath the sink and pulled out the bag, handing it to Edward, who had a look of sheer confusion on his face. "Happy birthday," I muttered as I clung onto the toilet, feeling another wave of nausea hit me.

"I can open this later when you're feeling better Bella," he said calmly as I felt his hand run along the back of my neck soothingly.

"Please Edward, just open the damned bag," I said forcefully as he frowned at me in confusion. I watched nervously as he opened up the bag and found the stuffed elephant first. He looked at me curiously and laid the toy on the counter. Next came the first onesie that said 'I love my daddy', then the tattoo one and finally he pulled out the last one that says 'my daddy drinks because I cry'. He was confused and I thought about grabbing the plunger and hitting him upside the head.

"These are the weirdest gifts anyone has ever given me," he stated firmly as he started to shove everything back in the gift bag. I threw up again, not even realizing I had it in me. I hadn't even had a chance to look up from the bowl when I heard him gasp and the realization suddenly hit him.

"Holy shit, you're pregnant," he yelled out loudly as I flushed the toilet.

"Happy Birthday."


	9. Chicago, IL

**A/N: Okay, so this is the follow up, AKA Edward's reaction. It's not a super long chapter but I think it encompasses everything you need to know about how Edward is feeling about the future little Cullen.**

**I'm glad everyone loves the story so much and I wish I could update faster. I know you will all hate me when I tell you I will be awol from Thursday till Tuesday of this week. With Father's Day and some courses I need to take for work, it will be hard for me to update online, but I will be writing. Never worry about that. This is why I am trying to update as much as I can now.**

**I didn't think the last chapter was a huge cliffhanger. Hell I could have not had her tell him at all... LOL. Anyways, as a reward for all those fuckawesome reviews, here's the next chappie.**

**Oh... lovebuggkiss got me onto twitter, same user name coldplay whore so check me out if you use it. Follow me... whatever the hell that means. I'm a new tweeter, be gentle.**

**A/N: I don't own twilight but I do have to attend a seminar about Adobe Captivate 4… anyone know how to use it? Anyone… Bueller?**

**Chapter 9 Song: Brand New Day by Joshua Radin**

**EPOV**

"Say it a little louder Edward, I don't think the folks down in Peoria heard you," said Bella sarcastically as I kneeled down beside her and kissed her forehead.

"When did you find out?" I asked curiously as I brushed some of the hair from her face. She looked beautiful, even curled around the toilet of our ritzy hotel. I was having difficulty managing to formulate my own thoughts on the whole situation because all I could concern myself with was Bella. She was pregnant. I'm still in shock.

"Yesterday. I took four tests in the woods with Alice while you guys were admiring the two story outhouse," she said with a laugh as I sat down on the cold tile floor and leaned against the tub. Bella followed suit and I put her hands in mine. "All four were positive."

"You took a pregnancy test in the fucking woods? … We need to see a doctor soon," I muttered quietly as she lifted her head slowly and stared at me with her big brown eyes. She was nervous, anxious and clearly worried about everything and all I wanted was for her to be okay.

"We'll be in Forks in two weeks and I will make an appointment to see my family doctor then," she said genuinely as she lifted herself off the bathroom floor and I soon followed. We walked back into the main room where our dinner was now sitting, no doubt cold as hell, but I wasn't hungry anymore.

"You should have some soup or crackers baby, keep your strength up and all that," I said trying to sound calm while I was really freaking out on the inside. We took our seats on the couch again and she greedily started eating the cold soup as I watched her intently. _She was pregnant. There was a little us growing inside of her. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. Holy shit._

"You're being really quiet about all of this Edward," said Bella as she snapped me from my reverie. I still didn't know what to say or how I felt about everything. "Are you alright with this?" I nodded my head involuntarily. "You don't seem alright with it."

"I'm just a little bit overwhelmed Bella," I admitted reluctantly as she shot me a sweet glance.

"Me too."

"Your father is going to shoot me."

"No he won't. Charlie loves you, sometimes more than me I think," she said with a laugh as I ran my hand along her back trying to soothe her. "He won't be happy about the out of wedlock thing, but who cares?" Shit. Now when I propose Bella's going to think I'm only doing it because of the baby, which was so not the case fifteen minutes ago. I should have fucking proposed after graduation. _Shit._

"My mother and Alice will be ecstatic. Think of all the things they can buy the baby," I said casually as Bella glanced at me curiously.

"I won't let this kid be spoiled Edward," she said with concern as I kissed the top of her head and reminded her to keep eating her soup.

"Don't worry Bella. I'll make sure my mother doesn't buy some $4,000 crib or anything extravagant like that." I let out a long sigh and Bella looked up at me, tears already forming in her eyes.

"You don't want this do you?" she asked as I tried to wipe the tears away but she pulled back out of my reach. "I'm having this kid whether you like it or not."

"Hold your horses Bella, of course I want this. It's sooner than I anticipated, but why wouldn't I want this? It's a product of our love and even though I am nervous as hell right now, nine months from now I'll be bouncing off the walls enthusiastically as we await the arrival of our little peanut," I replied as she curled up closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. "Now please eat the fricking soup. You're eating for two now."

The next morning, when ten o'clock rolled around, we met the rest of the gang down in the lobby. Apparently Alice had planned the entire day, which included a late brunch, a visit to the Art Institute and then we were heading to the Taste of Chicago for the night to pig out. I was already nervous about how Bella would handle all the food and smells seeing as she was barely keeping anything down, but I promised to scope out all the bathrooms and garbage cans during the day, in case she had to make a mad dash to throw up again.

"How was your evening?" asked Alice as we all headed into the restaurant in the hotel for brunch.

"Eventful," I said as I tightened my grip on Bella's waist and pulled her close to me. Bella and I had discussed telling our friends this morning about everything and thankfully we had agreed that they needed to be told. Alice already knew and Rosalie had to know soon since Bella was expected to be in her wedding in a few months. We both anticipated Rose's head would pop off at the thought of a pregnant maid of honor, which made us laugh uncontrollably for a few moments. It was the only laughter we shared last night.

We all got comfortable in our seats and Bella sat between Jasper and I on one side of the table. I kept my hand resting on her thigh during most of the meal, in an effort to be relaxing, but I think the longer we went without telling everyone, the more stressed she got. Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I just blurted it out. "Bella and I have big news to share," I began to say before Emmett interrupted us.

"You are finally fucking engaged. It's about damned time," he said with his loud booming voice which I realized I hadn't missed on the trip.

"No. We're pregnant," said Bella as Alice started to clap her hands and Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper all shot food out of their mouths and across the table.

"No shit," said Emmett as Jasper looked at us both completely awestruck.

"Pregnant… a baby…. your dress…" muttered Rosalie, clearly the most affected by the news, other than Bella and I of course.

"Yes Rosalie. Pregnant means there will be a baby coming and I will need a big ass tent of a dress for the wedding. They make maternity dresses, so calm down," said Bella soothingly as she reached across the table and grabbed her friends' hand. "The wedding will be fine. Just think, when you're back from your honeymoon you can start planning my baby shower." I watched as Alice's face lit up at the prospect and Rosalie simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm happy for you guys," she added reluctantly as I kissed Bella's head. "I'll just have to change the dresses to something a little more demure. I was going slightly risqué with my choices for the gowns," she said tentatively as Jasper looked at her in surprise.

"It's a wedding Rosalie, not the Adult Video News Awards, why the fuck do you have risqué dresses?"

"What the fuck are the Adult Video News Awards?" Bella asked curiously as I smacked my hand against my head.

"The Porno Awards," replied Jasper with a chuckle as we all groaned at him. "Well it's true. I don't get why Rosalie wants to dress her girls like hookers for her wedding."

"They weren't going to look like hookers," she retorted angrily as Jasper merely shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

Thankfully, the rest of our brunch was pretty relaxed once Rosalie got over the fact that she would need to change the dresses she had picked out for her wedding party. It wasn't long before the girls were all excitedly discussing nurseries and baby names while Emmett and Jasper both looked at me remorsefully. Just before we finished for the morning and paid the bill, Jasper stood up and decided he wanted to make a little toast.

"Okay, so I just remembered a little song and thought it was very appropriate for this moment," he began to say before he broke out singing and everyone else in the restaurant gawked at us. "Are you in there little fetus? In nine months will you come greet us? I will buy you some Adidas..."

"Are you fucking high?" asked Rosalie, even though we were all wondering the same thing.

"No. I saw it on Friends the other night when we were in Springfield and I just remembered it," said Jasper with a sigh as he sat down. Bella gave him a quick peck on the cheek and thanked him for the sentiment.

"Anyways, my baby will probably prefer Converse to Adidas," she added with a laugh as I snorted.

Less than an hour later, we were starting to walk through the Art Institute, which had been one of the primary reasons Bella wanted to go to Chicago. I kept asking her if she was feeling alright, worried that her breakfast might make a reappearance, but she assured me that she was doing fine. I think I was annoying her. Since Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett weren't overly interested in what Bella and I were, they headed their own way and we agreed to meet outside the building at four in order to make it to the Taste of Chicago together.

"I'm kind of relieved they're gone," admitted Bella as we started to walk around the gallery. "It makes it feel like it did back in Europe when we first met. Me dragging you to all sorts of galleries." I smiled as I recalled the memories, which I never once thought of as being 'dragged'.

"I went completely willingly baby," I said with a smile as I draped my arm over her shoulder and we walked into one of the contemporary exhibits. We stared at a few works by Francis Bacon before Bella led me into another room and she sat on the bench across from one of the works. "Are your feet tired?"

"Oh seriously, is this what it's going to be like for the next nine months?" asked Bella in frustration as I shrugged my shoulders and frowned.

"I was just worried and looking out for you. Remind me to shove you in front of oncoming traffic next time I get the chance," I said with a groan as I stood up and walked into the next room. I tried to focus on the work in front of me, aptly named 'Corpse and Mirrors II' by Jasper Johns, but I felt Bella walk up behind me and wrap her arms around my waist, hugging her body close to mine.

"I'm sorry. How about you just treat me like you normally would until I start showing or something, okay? I'm not ready for everyone to know and you are acting like I am completely fragile," she said, her voice brimming with sadness. I turned around to face her and kissed her gently on the forehead as my hand slipped between us, instinctively rubbing her stomach.

"I can't promise I won't worry about you Bella. I've known about this baby for like twenty hours and I already love it as much as I love you, so be patient with me?" I asked curiously as she nodded her head and I hugged her tight.

It wasn't long before we found the painting she really wanted to see, 'A Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte', which was literally huge. "I've always loved this panting," said Bella as I kissed her forehead.

"I know, you mentioned it when we were in Europe. Maybe we should get a mural done of it for the baby's room," I said genuinely as Bella turned to face me, looking rather upset.

"Don't you think that's extravagant? Let's not talk about a nursery yet, okay?" I nodded, feeling slightly confused by her words. "I want to make sure the baby is healthy before we go planning nurseries and color schemes, although knowing Alice, she probably has it all worked out." I tried not to think about it anymore, but it was hard not to now that our life would be changing so drastically. As we walked through the gallery, I barely paid attention to any of the works, instead I was focused on all the things we would need to do before the baby arrived in nine months.

We needed to find a bigger place to a live, a house even.

We needed to decide on baby names.

We needed to determine what Bella would do for maternity leave.

And most pressing of all in my opinion, we needed to tell our parents.

**BPOV**

It was finally out in the open and I was feeling relieved. I told Edward, although I didn't really trust his reaction, I did think he was excited about the prospect of us having a little Cullen in the next few months. He was suddenly extremely overprotective and concerned more than usual about my well being. It wasn't like I didn't appreciate it, but we were so early in the entire pregnancy process, that it didn't help for him to annoy me to death about taking care of myself.

As we walked through the entrance of the Taste of Chicago, what had previously seemed like an excellent idea, pre pregnancy, now made me more nauseous than ever. I clutched onto Edward's arm and reminded him to keep an eye out for garbage cans and bathrooms in case I desperately needed to hurl. "If you don't want to be here Bella, we can go back to our hotel room and enjoy some more cold soup," he said with a laugh as I elbowed him in the stomach.

"I'm starving so let's go find something harmless like pizza or chicken," I said with a groan as Alice and Jasper strolled in front of us and Emmett and Rose behind us.

"We're going to the barbecue beef stand over there," pointed Emmett as I groaned and Edward led me in the other direction.

"Why don't you go sit at a table and I'll go find you some pizza? This way you're not smelling everything but you still get fed," said Edward sweetly as he helped me towards a table, kissed my forehead and ran off to find me something that was deep dish and smothered in cheese. He finally came back twenty minutes later armed with two bottles of water and two huge slices of pizza. "I hope this works."

"It looks fine Edward. I'm sorry I keep snapping at you for looking out for me," I said remorsefully as he gripped my thigh in his hand. I grabbed the pizza and took a quick bite and it was absolutely delicious. I smiled easily at him as he opened a bottle of water and handed it to me.

"I'm sorry I am going all ape shit over you. I'm being overprotective for a reason though… I don't want anything to happen to either of you. I'm kind of attached," he said genuinely as he kissed my hand.

"Are you really excited?"

"Fuck yes I'm excited. This was going to happen eventually, so even though it's a bit of surprise, I can't wait. I've wanted forever with you since the day I met you and now you can't run away," he said with a laugh as he hugged me close to him.

"So… what do you think about Edward Junior?" I punched him in the shoulder and continued to eat my pizza, glad to know I was finally able to keep something down.

We met back up with the rest of the gang just before nine. "Did you see you can play a huge game of Twister?" asked Emmett excitedly once they finally joined us near Buckingham Fountain.

"Yeah, Emmett knocked over a five year old as he desperately tried to get to 'right hand yellow'" laughed Jasper as we all joined in.

"The bitch deserved the beat down she got. She tried to tickle me with her free hand," retorted Emmett angrily as we all continued to laugh at him. Only Emmett could incite the rage of a five year old girl while playing Twister.

"Are you guys going to come watch the show?" asked Alice curiously as I shook my head. There was a Ne-Yo concert going on at one of the band shells and Alice and Rose were desperate to go and see him perform, but Edward and I decided to head back to the hotel. We walked in silence for most of time, him clinging to my side closely.

"I think we should tell our parents when we get to Forks. After you see the doctor, of course."

"What do you mean _our_ parents?"

"I mean, I think I should have my parents fly in and we can tell them all together," explained Edward.

"Don't you think it's a bit soon?" I asked nervously as Edward kissed my forehead.

"How far a long do you think you are?"

"A month. I think it was conceived on the first night of the trip. The pill isn't exactly effective when your system is filled with various drugs and antibiotics," I admitted reluctantly as Edward smiled brightly.

"So, me being an overbearing ass when you're sick led to the pregnancy? That's funny as hell," he said as he gripped my hand firmly in his and began laughing. "When we get back to New York we need to find a new place to live."

"What? Why do we need to do that?" I inquired anxiously as Edward stared at me as though I was a complete moron.

"Where's the baby going to sleep Bella? We live in a one bedroom. Are you gonna put him in a dresser drawer or something?" he asked with a giggle.

"Well no, but I hadn't thought about that. Alright, we'll have to move. Perhaps we can get something in Brooklyn or something, a little house maybe," I suggested, knowing he would be happy with this idea. Edward had wanted us to move into our own brownstone since we got the apartment. I wasn't ready for dealing with a house and school, so he reluctantly agreed to the small apartment we are in now.

"Even though we're not married, I want the baby to be a Cullen when it's born. I know a lot of women choose to use their maiden name, but I don't want to." Edward smiled brightly and nodded his head. "Oh, and if it's a boy his middle name has to be Charlie."

"Deal. I can handle those terms. What if it's a girl?" asked Edward as we walked into the lobby of the hotel.

"Esme Renee… I don't know. Let's think about that one for a while. What would you rather have… a boy or a girl?" I asked curiously as Edward frowned at me before pushing the up button for the elevator.

"I don't care, as long as it's healthy. I think I might like a little girl who is just as beautiful as her mommy, but then I think about a little boy with wild bronze hair and smile at that too," Edward admitted as we stepped into the hotel suite and we both began changing into our pajamas. It wasn't late by any means, only after ten, but Edward could sense how tired I was and never even considered pushing the issue.

"Think about babies with me much?" I asked curiously as I watched Edward nod his head as he turned the blankets down and patted the bed for me to join him.

"All the time," admitted Edward with a small smile as I curled up next to him in bed and rested my head against his chest. He pulled the blankets up against us and wrapped his arms tight around my tired body. "I've had a lot of dreams about our future lately… weddings, babies, houses … all that shit. I've never wanted anything as much as I want a future with you Bella." I smiled contentedly as Edward reached down and rubbed my stomach sweetly. "Oh and you too little peanut."

**A/N: P.S. Who wants to be a fly on the wall when the shit hits the fan in Forks? Next Chapter... review your little hearts out and I will try to get the chapter up before I go away in 48 hours.**


	10. Chicago, IL to Forks, WA

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating this, but I had a bit of a block writing this. However, things are moving in a better direction and Chapter 11 is also in progress… in fact I just sent it to my Beta so it might be up within an hour or two.**

**Thanks everyone for the awesome comments on the last chapter and I know everyone is dying for either the parents reaction or the proposal, so let me just say… its coming. Patience my dear friends.**

**I don't own twilight, but I do have a toddler who refuses to let me watch CNN, but she will let me watch FoxNews, which I hate. I think I gave birth to a republican.**

**BPOV**

"You cannot be serious?" Edward shouted at Jasper as I zipped my luggage shut and placed it near the front door of our room. Edward and I were leaving today to continue our trek, sans Alice and Jasper, to Forks. We hadn't decided how long we were going to take to drive there, instead opting to wait until my doctor's office back in Forks opened up tomorrow to call and make an appointment. The date of our eventual appointment was the date I wanted to get into Forks and not a second sooner.

"Why not man? It's a good bet. If all of your parents are excited about the pregnancy and it's a boy you call the baby Jasper," explained Jas with a laugh as I glared at him incredulously.

"Over my dead body," I shouted out to the chorus of laughter.

"It's not like this bet has to last nine months. You are going to find out the sex of the baby right?" asked Alice with a giggle as I glared at her for encouraging this madness.

"Don't encourage him Alice. We don't know what we are going to do yet," I explained as I looked to Edward who was nodding his head in agreement. "Anyways, we should all be going before you guys end up missing your flights back to New York."

Everyone stood from their spot in our room and grabbed their luggage reluctantly. As much as Chicago had been fun, with the exception of the seemingly persistent nausea, I was happy to be moving along. The Taste of Chicago had actually been more fun than expected and so was the Sears Tower and Navy Pier, both of which Alice dragged us to on Saturday. I was happy to bid farewell to Chicago, but not really excited to get to Forks.

"Always the voice of reason," sighed Alice as Jasper grabbed both of their bags and they stepped into the hallway, Rose and Emmett following close behind.

"I know. This poor kid won't know what hit it," laughed Edward as I punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Do you have everything?" I nodded as he closed the door behind us and we all headed down the hallway and into the elevator after already having signed out of our room via a feature on the TV.

As we waited for the valet to bring the car around, Jasper and Emmett loaded their bags into the back of a waiting cab while the girls and I said goodbye. "Take care of my nephew," joked Alice as she patted my stomach gently.

"What makes you think it's a boy?" I asked curiously as she simply smiled at me from ear to ear.

"I'd say I'm psychic but the truth is that the male determines the gender of the baby and every first born Cullen has been male, Emmett, dad, grandpa, great grandpa… all men," she said confidently as Edward laughed at her from behind me.

"That might be true, but I'm still not calling the baby Jasper," I added as Alice smiled at me and wrapped me a big hug followed by Rosalie.

"I am really happy for you," Rosalie admitted as I hugged her fiercely and the SUV finally arrived. Edward tipped the valet and then loaded our luggage into the back of the Yukon. "I'll email you some dress ideas later in the week."

"Okay honey, I'll keep my eyes peeled. Edward's laptop is in here somewhere," I said as I motioned towards the SUV and I was suddenly swept into a group hug by Jasper and Emmett.

"Take care of little Jasper," joked Jasper as everyone broke into raucous laughter except me and Edward. Edward and the guys all patted each other on the back and agreed to get together for drinks whenever we finally made it back to New York City. Edward opened the passenger side door for me and I climbed in easily as we watched the cab speed away from us with our best friends in it.

"Ready to go?" he asked with a grin as he got comfortable in the driver's seat and handed me the iPod.

"Ready as I will ever be I suppose," I replied as we pulled away from the hotel and I looked back at it wistfully. "We should come back one day and tell the kids, 'this is where mommy told daddy she was pregnant by handing him a gift bag while she puked her brains out" I said with a laugh as Edward looked at me with a wide grin.

"Let's get through the first baby before we start talking about others," he suggested as he gripped my hand tightly and I searched through the iPod for something suitable. I ending up putting it on random after I was unable to find something I truly wanted to listen to and we both broke out into laughter as 'Knocked Up' by the Kings of Leon came blaring out of the speakers first.

_I don't care what nobody says  
We're gonna have a baby_

"Okay, that is just too funny," Edward said as we pulled out onto the highway and started heading west, not really certain where we wanted to go. An hour and a half later as we drove along the I-20 towards Rockford, Edward made a suggestion. "Care to head up to Madison for the night? Sure it's not far from Chicago but they have a huge lake and I'd kinda like to relax with just you for a day or two. What do you think?"

"Madison sounds fine," I said with a laugh as we suddenly turned onto I-90 heading north. We stopped half an hour later for lunch in a small town called Milton, where one of the locals told us about a huge Silo that was topped off with a pumpkin, so of course we had to go see it. We spent over an hour taking pictures and getting lost in the hay maze they had constructed as a way to keep the tourists busy while they visited. If it had been October, we would have been able to pick our own pumpkins, but fortunately for us, some other local farmers had some booths set up so we bought a pint of strawberries and headed back on the road, with me feeding them to Edward and myself as we drove along.

"Ooh, can you stop over there?" I pleaded with Edward when we finally pulled into Madison around three in the afternoon and I spotted a gigantic Borders store. I grabbed Edward's hand the moment we walked in and I dragged him to the pregnancy section where I immediately grabbed 'What to Expect When You are Expecting'.

"Aren't there other books?" he asked curiously as he held up the book Alice insisted I get because it had the best reviews on the pregnancy website she had been visiting. I quickly grabbed another book and tossed it towards him.

"Here's another one… this one's for you," I said with a grin as he checked out the cover of the latest book, 'The Expectant Father'. He tossed them in the small basket I grabbed for us and then kissed my temple.

"I'm gonna go look around okay?" he asked anxiously as I searched through a few more titles and tossed another book on childbirth into the basket. I nodded my head and continued to look around the entire store for almost half an hour. Edward showed up a little bit later with two CD's and a small book, which he tossed into the basket before I got a chance to see them. He grabbed the basket from me and wordlessly led me towards the cash. "You were done right?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I replied as we waited in line to pay for our purchases. "What did you get?"

"Nothing special," he replied as I simply shrugged my shoulders and we finally stepped up to the cash. "I was talking to one of the guys that worked here and he recommended a bed and breakfast right on the lake for us to stay in. His Aunt and Uncle own it and he said it was awesome."

"That's fine," I added casually as we wandered out to the car a few moments later and he started driving in the direction of the B&B.

Twenty minutes later and we were completely checked in and I was already lying on our bed flipping through the book I got as Edward checked out the local guide which listed all the restaurants and sites to see in Madison. "What do you feel like for dinner?" he asked curiously as I laid the book across my stomach and thought for a moment.

"Chinese. Can we order in?" I questioned as Edward simply nodded his head and grabbed his cell phone. After four years together I didn't even need to look at a menu when we went anywhere, Edward already knew what I liked. It was like he had a card catalogue in his head of everything Bella related. As I listened to him order some Lemon Chicken and extra egg rolls, it completely reinforced my belief.

As we waited for dinner to arrive, Edward and I lied on the bed together as I read the book and he played with my hair, listening to me as I read excerpts from the book. "You can't eat sushi?" he asked in surprise.

"Nope," I said quickly as I popped the p and he chuckled at me. "I also can't eat soft cheeses like brie and blue cheese, which doesn't matter anyways because they smell like feet and I hate them. No raw eggs, once again not a problem," I said as we both jumped slightly from a loud crack of thunder. A few second later, a bright bolt of lightning lit up the bedroom and I cuddled closer to Edward.

We hadn't even realized it had started raining, but when the front desk called to advise Edward that our dinner had arrived, I got up and looked out the window to see that it was pouring. Edward rushed back into the room a few minutes later holding the soaking wet bag of Chinese Food and the cutlery and plates that Anna, the owner, had given us.

"It is wrong of me to hope the power goes out so we can have a fun filled night like we did in Copenhagen?" he asked as a grin covered his face and I smiled in remembrance.

"Ah, that was a fun night wasn't it?" I said with a chuckle as I remembered the game I made him play. "I loved the look on your face when you finally realized I was sucking you off," I giggled as he scowled at me playfully.

"I was so pissed I never got to suck on your other nipple that night," he said as he frowned at me for a moment and then handed me a plate covered with my favorite Chinese foods.

"Whatever, Edward. You were so excited that I had your cock in my mouth you couldn't form a coherent sentence. Even when you kept telling me my minute was up, you know you didn't want me to stop," I added as he sat down beside me on the bed and kissed my cheek.

"Fucking right. I wouldn't stop you if you did it right now either," he said as he smirked at me before he took a big bite of his broccoli beef. I laughed at his comment and silently ate the rest of my dinner, praying my nausea would hold out for a while so I could follow up on his suggestion.

When I was finally finished dinner, Edward cleaned up everything and I went back to reading my book while he turned on CNN and got caught up on the news. After a little while he checked his cell phone and noticed he had received a text letting him know everyone arrived safely back in New York, which was a relief. "Umm… when should we tell my parents about the baby?"

I hesitated because I hadn't even thought about it. "I've been so worried about breaking the news to my parents, I hadn't even thought about yours," I admitted as he got off the couch and came up to sit with me. Edward took the book from me and wrapped his arms around me tightly as he began playing with my hair again. "Any ideas?"

"I was thinking of asking them to come to Forks in a few weeks. Why not kill two birds with one stone right? We'll tell them together. Perhaps my parents will help make the blow a little easier to Renee, who is the only one I am assuming will have a problem with this," said Edward confidently as I rested my head against his chest and tried to think.

"I'm fine with that, I guess. They can stay over at the Pine Cone Motel seeing as my parents have no room, although your parents will probably have a coronary staying there. It's a little seedy," I admitted with a grin as I imagined Esme and Carlisle staying at the only motel in Forks, which to be honest was a dump.

"They can stay at your parents and we'll stay at the motel, or they can stay in Port Angeles. Mom would probably love shopping at all the little stores on the main street," Edward added as I smiled and felt his warm breath on me. "You know I don't really care about their reaction. It's not going to change how I feel about you and the peanut," he said sweetly as he rubbed my stomach again, making me get a bit teary eyed.

"I know. I love you."

"I love you both, Bella."

**EPOV**

The next morning after we showered and got dressed, Bella called her doctor's office and scheduled an appointment for the following Wednesday at one in the afternoon. Today was Tuesday so we had eight days to get into Forks. A little shorter than I had hoped, but it was fine nonetheless. After breakfast when Bella was hit with a wave of nausea, I decided to call my parents and invite them to Forks for the weekend.

"Hey Mom," I said the moment she answered the phone.

"Edward. It's wonderful to hear from you. Where are you guys these days?" she inquired curiously as I took a moment to remember exactly where we spent the night.

"Bella and I are in Madison, Wisconsin. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett all got back to Manhattan yesterday after our weekend in Chicago."

"How was it baby? Chicago I mean. It's actually been several years since your father and I have been there," she said casually as I explained a bit about the Taste of Chicago and some of the other sites we visited in the city.

"There's a reason I'm calling mom," I finally asked after a few minutes on the phone with her. Bella walked out of the bathroom drinking a big glass of water and came over to sit on my knee as I continued talking to my mother. "Bella and I were wondering if you and Dad would be able to come out to Washington next weekend?"

I was met with silence.

"Are you still there Mom?"

"I'm sorry Edward, I was trying to find my calendar. Did you propose to her?" she asked quietly as I prayed that Bella hadn't heard her.

"No."

"Oh okay then. Your father and I are free. I'll call his office and have them make arrangements to book the weekend off and we will fly in on Friday. Does this work for you?" she asked enthusiastically as I clutched the phone for dear life.

"That's perfect mom. I suggest you and Dad try to fly into Port Angeles and get hotel rooms there because Forks is a tiny town and according to Bella their main hotel is basically a shit hole," I admitted as my mother giggled slightly.

"That's fine Edward. I'll have the arrangements made and I will call you with specifics later in the week. Give Bella my love will you?"she asked sweetly as I kissed Bella's cheek.

"Consider it done Mom." Thankfully our conversation ended there because Bella was looking like death warmed over as she sat on my lap. "Did you take your vitamins this morning?" She nodded her head ruefully.

"Yeah, I did." She climbed off of my lap and lay down on the bed as I called the front desk and requested the room for another night.

"We're staying here today and if you are feeling better we'll be out of here in the morning alright?" I explained to her as I lay down beside her and wrapped my arms around her. I found myself always leaving my hand resting on her stomach now, though I didn't do it on purpose, it was always happening. I felt her nod against me and before I knew it, we both fell fast asleep.

A week later, Bella and I found ourselves in Portland, Oregon checking out of the Days Inn we had stayed in the night before. Since leaving Madison, we had driven up to St. Paul / Minneapolis and visited the Mall of America, where we ended up buying a few small things for the baby which I couldn't resist. Bella kept saying we should wait, but I didn't care. The little overalls I found at Baby Gap were too cute to leave behind even though there was a Baby Gap in virtually every town.

We also headed further south and visited Des Moines, Iowa… Omaha, Nebraska, where my father suggested I try to find Warren Buffett, and then we spent a few days relaxing in Denver, Colorado. When Bella touched base with Alice and let them know where we were, Jasper suggested we head up to Fort Collins, Colorado for some Ultimate Frisbee Tournament he had heard about, but there was no chance of that happening, no matter how funny it would be. I kept picturing a bunch of stoners tossing about the Frisbee like in the movie PCU. Jasper also suggested we try to make it to the Burning Man Festival, but once again, that wasn't bloody likely.

After an overnight stop at a spa in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where I insisted Bella take the day enjoying a bunch of their services, we ended up in Salt Lake City, Utah and then Boise, Idaho, both of which held no interest of either of us, although they seemed like lovely cities.

It was now Tuesday morning and we had to make it into Forks by one o'clock tomorrow afternoon for Bella's appointment and my nerves were starting to get to me. I had no idea what her doctor was going to say, and I envisioned the doctor calling Charlie and telling him I had knocked her up before we were married and Charlie chasing me through the streets of Forks with his shot gun. So I had an active imagination lately, but I was stressed and trying to act all calm and collected for Bella. She didn't need to see my nerves and stress.

We drove for the morning and stopped along the coast to eat some sandwiches that Bella had made for us the night before. She had insisted on picking up some groceries in Portland and even though I found it pointless, I had quickly learned not to disagree with a pregnant woman. We ate at a small bluff overlooking the ocean and before I realized it, Bella had fallen asleep in my arms as we were simply lying down and listening to the water crash against the rocks below us. I couldn't bring myself to wake her, so needless to say when she finally woke up an hour later, she was pissed at me.

"Why didn't you wake me up? Now we're going to be late getting into Aberdeen tonight," she said as she stood up and smoothed her clothes against her body.

"We are not going to be late. Its two o'clock and we're only like two hours from Aberdeen. Just relax baby. You looked tired and I wanted you to get some rest. Let's get back in the car and get going, alright?" I asked as she grabbed the blanket from the ground and threw it in the back of the truck.

She got into her passenger seat and quickly buckled up, practically ignoring my existence. We drove in silence down the highway for a little bit before I couldn't handle it anymore.

"Are you honestly mad that I let you take a nap?" I asked, trying not to sound as frustrated as I knew I was.

"No."

"Then what is wrong Bella?" I asked as I reached my hand over the console and took her hand tenderly into mine.

"What if the doctor tells me something is wrong with the baby?" she choked out as I noticed she was starting to cry a bit. I pulled the SUV over into a small area on the side of the road and grasped her face firmly in my hands.

"You can't worry about it Bella. We're just going in for a checkup and to ensure you are actually pregnant, I doubt the doctor could tell you tomorrow if there was something wrong. Don't they have to run tests and stuff first?" I questioned anxiously. She had read bits and pieces of her pregnancy book to me over the past week, but I don't recall her mentioning anything about this yet.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said as her tears subsided slightly and she began sniffling. I reached onto the floor of the backseat and grabbed the box of tissues we kept there and handed it to her. She grabbed a bunch of them and quickly wiped her tears from her eyes. "It's just… since I found out I was pregnant, I've been trying to hide my excitement about it because I worry something will happen."

"Don't hide it Bella. We're having a baby together… our little peanut… you should be overjoyed. Even though we hadn't planned it, I'm thrilled. I'm sure this baby will be healthy and happy when it is born in eight months," I reassured her as she leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips.

"Do you want to find out the sex of the baby?" she asked me as my hand reached up and cupped her cheek gently.

"Yeah, I mean… if you do, I want to. We can wait though because it will be such an awesome surprise," I responded as she looked at me curiously.

"That wasn't an answer. Do _you_ want to know the sex of the baby?" she asked again as I smiled from ear to ear.

"Yes."

"Okay good, me too," she admitted as I ran the back of my hand down the side of her face. "Okay, breakdown over for now. Although I can't promise there won't be any others. They seem to pop up at the worst possible time," she said with a laugh as I took the SUV out of park and we pulled back onto the highway.

Less than twenty minutes later, Bella was fast asleep in the passenger seat as I turned on some old Soundgarden from my iPod and tried to relax as best as I could without worrying about the health of our unborn child. That hadn't even been a consideration to me until Bella mentioned it earlier.

The next day when we pulled onto the 5th Avenue, my heart sunk to the bottom of my chest as Bella pointed to a driveway and told me to turn in. Dr. Lewis's office was based in an older Victorian style home and I started to get nervous as I parked the Yukon and glared at the clock. 12:55pm.

"Let's get this over with. Charlie and Renee are expecting us before three," said Bella as she hopped out of the car and waited patiently for me at the front of the truck. I stepped out, locking the vehicle behind me and went over to her, quickly grasping her hand in mine and leading her up the steps into the home. We were greeted by the receptionist, Doris, according to her nametag, who quickly handed Bella a clipboard to fill out her information since I had been over four years since her last visit. She filled it out quickly and handed it back to her, who advised us to simply sit and wait until her name was called.

Bella sat down and flipped through a magazine as I stared at the ground while fiddling with my fingers nervously. "Bella Swan?" we both heard as we turned to look up into the face of a girl around our age who was about six months pregnant.

"Jessica Stanley," said Bella as she stood up reluctantly and gave her a quick hug. "Wow, you're having a baby."

"Yeah and its Jessica Newton now," said the pale skinned brunette as she patted her stomach gently. "Mike and I tied the knot last summer and now here we are… expecting a baby girl," she said as I stood up and offered her my seat.

"Who's the stud?" asked Jessica as she took my seat and Bella blushed and came to stand beside me, her fingers entwining in mine.

"This is my boyfriend Edward," said Bella reluctantly as I extended my hand to her and she shook it gently. I couldn't quite understand Bella's lack of enthusiasm with Jessica, but I had to have faith that she knew what she was doing.

"I thought Angela said you were living in New York. What brings you to Forks?" she asked curiously as she looked from Bella to me with complete interest. I made Bella sit down beside her so that she was off her feet and Jessica's eye lit up. "Are you pregnant?"

"Oh god no. Edward and I are traveling cross country before we start our jobs in the fall and I was feeling sick so we decided to get things checked out while we were in town visiting my parents," lied Bella anxiously as I ran my hand across the top of her head sweetly.

"Oh," sighed Jessica as she glared at me again in confusion. She looked like she was about to say something else, but the receptionist called Bella's name and we bid Jessica a farewell and stepped into the doctor's office.

"Fuck, I hope she bought that. I couldn't stand that girl when I was in high school and she has the biggest mouth in all of Forks. If she didn't believe me everyone in town could know I'm pregnant before we tell my parents," said Bella as I rubbed small circles on her back in an effort to be calming.

"Don't worry about her," I advised as Bella rested her head on my shoulder and the Doctor wandered into the room, clutching her file and clipboard a moment later.

"Isabella Swan… my how you've grown up," said Dr. Lewis, who was a slightly attractive woman in her mid 40's. She looked tired and stressed, but I assumed most doctors looked that way. "I think the last time I saw you I was wrapping your leg in a cast when you broke it."

"Yeah," laughed Bella as she clearly recalled the incident. "I'd like to think I've become a lot less clumsy since then."

"So, what brings you here today? Who's your friend?" asked Dr. Lewis as Bella tensed up and I held her hand firmly for support.

"This is Edward Cullen, my boyfriend. I took a few pregnancy tests about two weeks ago and they were all positive," she said quietly as I decided to pipe up.

"We're almost certain she's pregnant considering the nausea and mood swings she's been having, but we were hoping you could confirm it for us, do a blood test or whatever and possibly tell us the due date," I said as Bella looked at me and silently said 'thank you' with her eyes.

"Well Bella, when was the date of the first day of your last period?"

"Umm… May 12th, I believe," said Bella nervously. "I'm not 100 percent sure. I don't really keep track of the days much anymore."

"That's fine. Do you know when you think you conceived?"

"May 23rd," I replied as Dr. Lewis looked at me with a smile, apparently pleased I was involved in the entire process. The doctor typed a few small things into the computer and then looked at us both with a grin.

"Well according to this, if you are indeed pregnant, which even without the test I would guess you are based on your symptoms, I would say you are 8 weeks pregnant and due on January 30th. Of course the due date is an estimation and you could have it earlier or later than that date," explained Dr. Lewis as I gripped Bella's hand tightly. _Holy Shit_. Hearing the actual due date and how far along Bella was made everything seemed ten times more real. I looked over at her and she was both smiling and crying and I realized how I desperately wanted to marry her before the peanut arrived.

"I love you," I whispered to her as she laid her head against my shoulder.

"I love you too," she replied quietly as Dr. Lewis handed her a couple of pamphlets about pre-natal care and pregnancy.

"I'm going to get one of my nurses to prepare the test for you so that we can be sure that you are pregnant. The test results only take a day or two to get back, so someone from the office will probably call you on Friday to confirm," explained Dr. Lewis as she stood up and walked out the door and back to the reception area.

"The end of January. Can you believe it?" asked Bella as she turned in her seat and looked over at me. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be."


	11. Forks, WA

**A/N: Yes, you saw that right… two chapters in like two hours. I'm glutton for punishment. I have a few shoutouts to some friends in this story, I hope both of them catch on to them. **

**This will be a short A/N since I haven't read any of the recent reviews, but the two-fer day is for all 531 who have this on Alert and 359 who have it as a favorite. You all rock! **

**I don't own twilight; I do have a printer without any ink. Anyone have ink for an Epson Stylus Photo R220 Printer?**

**BPOV**

I was pacing around my bedroom nervously, waiting for the call from Dr. Lewis office. It's not like I didn't believe I was pregnant, I just wanted official confirmation from a doctor, not a stick I bought at Wal-Mart. It was almost lunchtime on Friday and Edward was out fishing with Charlie. Renee had tried to get me to go into Port Angeles with her, but I pretended I had a stomach ache and she finally left me alone after almost two hours of begging.

My cell phone sat on my dresser, practically calling out to me like a beacon and I couldn't stop staring at it. _A watched pot never boils_, is what my mother would be saying if she saw me right now and I didn't care. I kept trying to sit down and read my pregnancy book but I couldn't focus on anything but that damned cell phone.

When we had arrived at my parents on Wednesday afternoon after the doctor's appointment, my parents were beyond excited to see us. Charlie practically yanked Edward out to the backyard to show him the improvements to his old Impala, which every time I saw it I still blushed as I recalled when Edward and I had a quickie in the back seat. My mother then dragged me into the kitchen and made me tell her all about our trip while she prepared some steaks and burgers for dinner.

"There are actually two story outhouses?" she asked incredulously as she tossed some seasonings on the steaks and stacked them up on a plate. I looked out the back door and saw Edward and my father checking out his new barbecue, which was no doubt the main reason we were having steak tonight.

"Yeah. They don't work, well not anymore anyways," I said with a slight laugh as Edward and Charlie walked in and Charlie wrapped his arm around my mom's waist, kissing her neck. It was still kind of sweet to see them act that way together, showing they were still in love with each other. I wondered briefly if twenty five years down the road Edward and I would still feel the way we do now.

I was woken from my memories by my cell phone buzzing on the dresser. I grabbed it quickly, flipping it open and started to speak nervously, my voice practically quivering.

"Hello."

"Is this Isabella Swan?" said the calm female voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes."

"Hi Isabella, this is Tasha from Dr. Lewis' office," she began to say as I sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm calling to provide you with the results of the blood test we had processed on your behalf and confirm that you are indeed pregnant."

"Thank you," I replied quietly as a smile broke out across my face. I don't think I could have handled it if I had found out it had been a false positive.

"Dr. Lewis would like you to schedule a follow up appointment for a month from now," said Tasha casually as I quickly cut her off.

"Oh, well. I actually live in New York City, so I will make arrangements to continue my care with my doctor there, but thank you for your assistance Tasha," I said sweetly. "Oh, can I ask one thing?"

"Sure Isabella," she replied genuinely.

"I'm actually on a cross country trip with my boyfriend, I'm just wondering if the travelling would be harmful to the baby," I asked, a hint of concern obvious in my voice. I didn't want to continue on with our plans if there was any chance of hurting the baby. I didn't think there was, but Edward asked me to double check when they called me today.

"No, that should be fine. As long as you continue with your pre-natal care, take your vitamins and what not, you should be alright. I am assuming this is not a long term thing and you will be back in New York eventually?" she inquired as I leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and suddenly feeling like a sixteen year old girl back in my old bedroom.

"Yeah, I'll be back in New York in about a month or so," I replied.

"That's fine Isabella. You can get your sonogram at twelve to fourteen weeks, so I would contact your doctor back in New York and make the arrangements. Then plan your trip accordingly," advised Tasha as I thanked her again and quickly shut the phone off. I lay on the bed and flipped open the phone again, going through my directory to find the phone number for my doctor back in New York and dialed immediately.

"Good Afternoon, Dr. Feldman's office. This is Nicole," said the sweet voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi Nicole, this is Isabella Swan. I was hoping I could make an appointment with Dr. Feldman in the near future," I said quickly. "I've just found out I am about 8 weeks pregnant and need to schedule an ultrasound."

"That's wonderful news Isabella, congratulations. According to my calendar, the soonest we can get you in is August 5th. Is this alright for you?" Hmm… one month. I guess that's the best I can do.

"Sure Nicole. What time?"

"How about first thing in the morning, nine o'clock?"

"That's fine," I replied as Nicole then told me a few things to do to prepare for the ultrasound. I explained that I already had the blood test done confirming the pregnancy and she advised that she would have Dr. Feldman run several other tests to make sure everything was fine with the baby. I thanked her profusely before ending the call and texting Edward.

_E – Positive on the test. Appointment in NYC on Aug 5 9am. Luv U – B_

I got up from my bed and walked over to the shelf where my mother had kept a lot of my childhood items, including an old stuffed bear Charlie had given me when I was born. I pulled it down and lay back on the bed, pulling at the tag as I wondered how the hell to break the news to my parents.

_So, Edward here didn't wrap his pecker and I'm knocked up_. Yeah that would go over like a fart in church.

_I can't keep my hands off of him and whoops… we're having a baby _I don't think Charlie would like that one very much.

My phone started buzzing on the night stand beside me and I opened it up to find a text from Edward.

_B- Awesome. Can't wait to c u. I luv u – E_

It's less than an hour later when my mother walks in carrying a couple of bags from some stores in Port Angeles and I traipse down the stairs to join her. "It looks like you bought out Hearth and Home," I said with a snicker as my mother sat down in a nearby chair after laying the bags on the floor.

"Well, with Edward's family coming tonight, I had to do something Bella. I don't think I have even bought a candle for this place in five years," sighed Renee as I grinned at her. She was putting in all of this effort to impress Edward's family, which I thought was cute, although ridiculous.

"Do you want help?"

"Sure, can you start pulling all the price tags off of everything and I can tell you where they go," she said with a small smile as she started to pull off her shoes and began rubbing her feet. Within fifteen minutes I had almost completely redecorated the living room with candles, pillows, throw blankets and other various knick knacks.

"It looks nice," I commented when we were done and my mother pleaded for my opinion.

"Well, you guys didn't exactly give me a lot of time to plan this. I would have probably bought new furniture, but this is what you get in such a short time," she said as she finally stood from her seat and headed into the kitchen. I followed behind and I was about to help her make dinner when Charlie and Edward walked in the front door, my dad holding a small cooler which no doubt held his catch for the day.

When he opened the top of it to show my mother, I bolted from the room, desperate to find the bathroom and puke my guts out. Unfortunately, I didn't have a moment to lock the door and Edward came in a moment later, smelling like fish and making me wretch again.

"Okay… I love you, but you need to go shower right now. The smell of fish is making me ill," I said as I clung to the toilet like a lifeline and he stepped out behind me. I could hear him talking to my parents reassuring them that I was fine and I crawled to the door and locked it, glad for the quiet, if only for a few moments. When I was done, I stood in front of the sink of the powder room and splashed some water on my face before taking a deep breath and walking back into the kitchen.

"Are you alright baby?" asked my mother as she hugged my shoulder and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I think I ate something bad for lunch, but I am fine now. We're not having fish for dinner are we?" I asked anxiously as my mother shook her head.

"No, we're having some chicken cordon bleu. I saw Emeril do it on the Food Network last month and made it for your dad and he loved it, so I thought it would be nice for Carlisle and Esme too." I nodded my head because I was certain they would enjoy it and then heard the shower shut off upstairs.

"My turn to shower," laughed my father as I backed away from him as he headed up the stairs, smelling a little too much like fish for my liking.

"I'm going to go check on Edward," I advise my mom as she stepped back towards the counter and began beating the chicken breasts with a mallet.

"Okay baby. I think Edward said Carlisle and Esme would be here around five, so make sure you are dressed and ready by then, okay?" I didn't reply as I slowly climbed the stairs, my stomach still feeling a bit unsettled. When I walked into the room, Edward was wearing a towel loosely around his hips and if I hadn't just been throwing up, I would be pinning him against the wall and having my way with him. In the past few days, my libido had been skyrocketing and I wanted Edward more than ever, but I was always too tired or sick to follow through. Soon, I told myself as I watched him pull some clothes from our luggage.

"Are you okay?" he asked when he turned around and saw me drooling a bit.

"Yeah, hormones," I said with a snicker as he pulled on some boxers and a loose fitting pair of khakis. He pulled on a pale green button up shirt and wandered over to me as he buttoned it and I desperately wanted to pull off each button and lick his chest. _Shit_. "How was fishing?"

"It was fine. A little boring but your dad and I had a great talk..." he was saying before there was a knock on the door.

"Esme and Carlisle just got here," said my mom as she peeked her head in the door. "They were apparently so eager to get here they caught an earlier flight."

"Uh, they have their own plane," laughed Edward as my mom blushed.

"Anyways, they're here so hurry on down please," sighed my mother, looking slightly in shock that she wasn't aware they had a plane. She turned and ran back down the stairs so she didn't keep the guests waiting.

"How the hell are we going to tell them?" I asked nervously as Edward wrapped his arms around me and laid his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm just going to say, guess what… we fucked and we got pregnant," laughed Edward as I smacked him upside the head. "Okay, fine, I'm going to be honest and say we're having a baby. I'm kind of curious about all the questions they are going to ask. I'll tell them though, I don't mind."

**EPOV**

Hell yeah I mind, but I don't want Bella getting even more stressed out about this. When she ran into the bathroom puking her guts out after smelling the fish, I was petrified her parents were going to catch on to our situation. As we walked down the stairs, hand in hand, I noticed my mother glaring at her hand, expecting to see the ring I had purchased for her there, but it wasn't. It was going to be there soon, especially since the conversation I had while fishing today with Charlie. I knew I was going to ask before the weekend was over. We just wanted to get over the hurdle of the baby announcement first.

"Edward, Bella… you guys look wonderful," exclaimed Esme as she came up and gave us a big group hug. Carlisle hugged us each separately as Renee strolled back into the room holding their glasses of white wine.

"How is the trip going?" asked my dad as Bella and I sat down on Charlie's old recliner, her sitting on my lap while I played with her hair. I had to restrain myself from laying my hand on her stomach, so I ended up sitting on my free hand, which was awkward to say the least.

"It's been really good. We've seen a bunch of weird things, but we also went whale watching up in Maine and we went to the Art Institute of Chicago, which Bella loved of course," I said proudly as I tightened my grip on her waist.

Charlie strolled down moments later, freshly showered, dressed and no longer smelling like fish, which seemed to please Bella. Our parents exchanged more pleasantries and they went into various conversations about politics, weather, gas prices… whatever the hell sprung to mind while Bella and I sat back and did our best to relax. It was the calm before the storm.

"Dinner's ready," called Renee almost an hour later as we all stood and wandered into the dining room. We all took our seats, Bella and I directly beside each other, and I grabbed her hand tightly once I noticed her tensing up again.

"Before or after dinner?" I whispered to her as she responded 'before' and I rubbed my hands across my face, waiting for Renee and Charlie to take their seats.

"Everything looks wonderful," said my mother happily as she reached for her fork once everyone was seated.

"Umm… I have an announcement to make before everyone starts eating," I said calmly as I stood from my seat and continued to hold Bella's hand. "Well, we have an announcement to make," I added as Bella squeezed my hand tight.

"You finally proposed?" shouted out Esme as Bella looked at her dumbfounded.

"Um… no."

"But I thought…" started Esme when I interrupted her quickly before she revealed that I already had a ring.

"We're going to have a baby."

The room was so silent it was unbelievable. I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I watched as slowly Esme and Charlie both started to smile.

"We're eight weeks along and due at the end of January. When we get back to New York at the beginning of August, Bella's going to have an ultrasound and we will find out if it's a boy or a girl," I let out a huge sigh as Bella looked up at me with love and I kissed the top of her forehead. "Okay, let's eat."

I wasn't exactly prepared for what happened next. Renee laid down her fork and walked through the kitchen and out the back door. Carlisle took a huge swig of his wine and Esme and Charlie offered up their congratulations with huge hugs. "I'm going to be a grandfather. I can't believe it."

"Yeah well, believe it," said Bella as she gave her dad another hug and then walked outside to find Renee.

"What happened to the proposal?" asked Esme as everyone else looked on curiously. I looked out the back door to make sure Bella wasn't coming in and finally told them.

"I've been trying to figure out how to do it for weeks and this sorta popped up in the middle of everything and I haven't had a chance to ask, although after talking to you today while fishing, I now have a good idea. I'm gonna do it later tonight." Charlie patted me on the back supportively as Esme hugged me again.

"I always thought it would be Rosalie and Emmett first, but it doesn't matter. I'm so happy for you. You guys are happy about it right?" confirmed Esme as I nodded my head. "Carlisle, isn't this wonderful. You're going to be a grandfather."

"I'm just a little surprised," my father said reluctantly as I sat back down and took a sip of my beer.

"Imagine our surprise," I said with a small smile as I played with the label on my beer. "I just want you guys to know that this wasn't planned, but it doesn't matter. You guys already know Bella and I are going to be together, now it's going to be three of us, not two."

Renee and Bella walked back in a few moments later, both of them looking like they had been crying. "We should eat before everything gets cold," said Renee as she sat down and quickly took a bite of her chicken.

"Is everything okay?" I whispered to Bella as she sat back down and gripped my hand tightly.

"Yeah."

The rest of dinner was the Esme question time. She asked every single question known to man about pregnancy. How was Bella feeling? When did she realize she was pregnant? How did she tell me? Did we have any names picked out? It was starting to get old after about ten minutes, but we both did our best to answer enthusiastically and by the end of dinner, everyone was asking us questions.

Esme insisting on using some of her connections in real estate and architecture to find us a new place to live in New York. "I don't suppose there is any way we can sway you guys to move to Boston is there?" she asked as Esme was serving up cheesecake for dessert.

"If they are moving anywhere, it's back to Forks," piped up Renee as she sat the dessert down and began slicing it up. "A girl should have her mother while she's pregnant."

"We're not moving anywhere," exclaimed Bella in frustration. "Edward and I are going to live with peanut in Manhattan. Our jobs and our friends are there. We'll find a place in Brooklyn or something to live."

"What the hell is peanut?" asked Carlisle as I burst out laughing. "Did you get a dog?"

"That's the baby's name," I said with a grin as everyone looked at us with surprise. "I didn't like calling the baby 'it' so now we call it peanut. You don't have to, it's just something Bella and I do."

As we finished up our coffees, my parents bid us goodnight before the headed back to Port Angeles. They were coming back tomorrow, hopeful that I will have proposed and that there would be wedding plans to be made, although Bella didn't know that. I walked my parents out and when I returned I grabbed the keys for the Impala from Charlie and grabbed Bella's hand. "Can you come for a drive with me?"

"Um, it's kind of late," she said reluctantly as I leaned in and kissed her neck.

"We won't be gone long. Your dad is letting me take the Impala out for a test drive," I said quickly as she nodded her head. "I'm going to go get you a sweater though cause it's getting a bit cold out there." I ran upstairs and when I came down, Bella was waiting impatiently by the back door which led to the garage where the Impala was.

"Be good to her," shouted Charlie as we walked out the door and I was certain he wasn't talking about the car. I helped Bella into the car and started it up, listening to it purr like a dream, just like Charlie had told me earlier in the morning. The ring was now sitting in my pocket and my heart was beating out of my chest as we drove through town and out towards the small park area Charlie had told me about off Highway 101 which was where he proposed to Renee, in a different Impala.

"Did your dad ever tell you why he started to restore this car?" I asked as Bella simply shook her head. "He was telling me about it today on the boat. He used to have one about twenty five years ago when he was dating your mom."

"Really? I didn't know that," commented Bella as we pulled into the small park space and I turned the car off, leaving the headlights shining and the radio playing.

"He was also telling me about how one night a year later he drove her out to a small park on highway 101 and proposed to her. You came along three years later," I said slowly, hoping she would catch on to where we were. I chuckled slightly as 'Into the Mystic' by Van Morrison came on the classic rock station Charlie had set in the car.

"Sounds like you and Charlie had a good time today," she said blindly as I grabbed her hand.

"Bella… listen to me," I said forcefully as she nodded her head. "Your dad proposed to your mom in his old impala at this very park." I pulled the ring from my pocket and held it up towards her. "I want to do the same thing. Isabella Swan, will you marry me?"

For the second time tonight, there was complete silence at my words. Bella looked down at the ring and then back up at me, tears in her eyes. Unfortunately, she wasn't smiling and I didn't think these were happy tears.

"Can I think about it," she asked as she fiddled with her hands, showing her nervousness. My heart fell in my chest and I honestly wanted to beat the shit out of Charlie's old car. Four years together and she had to think about marrying me, what the fuck?

"What is there to think about? We love each other, we're having a baby, we should get married," I replied angrily as Bella reached out for me and I stupidly pulled my hand back.

"Right… we're having a baby. That's no reason to get married Edward," she replied as I started the car and pulled out of the park grounds. I didn't know what to say to her. I thought that by now she would realize I wasn't proposing because she was pregnant, that I was proposing because I was in love with her and had been for four fucking years.

We got back to her parent's house in record time and I pulled the car into the garage turning it off and stepping out quickly. I no longer saw the Impala as a car that held happy memories for me. I went to help Bella out of the car but she shrugged me off and we headed upstairs, still giving each other the silent treatment.

Bella and I both got ready for bed and when she had crawled in under the covers, I sat on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. "Do you really think I only want to marry you because you are pregnant?"

"I'm not sure," she replied as I shook my head and grabbed the pillow I had been using for the past few days.

"I'm gonna go sleep downstairs in the den. Give you some time to think about it. I'll see you in the morning," I said reluctantly as headed out the room and began to close the door behind me.

"I love you," she called out as I dragged myself downstairs and I collapsed on the couch in the den as I buried my face in my pillow and wondered what the fuck I was going to do now.

**A/N: P.S. Please don't hate me!**


	12. Forks, WA Part 2

**A/N: Well, now that we have got some stuff out of the way, you'll notice, after this chapter of course, that things are going to be heading back to more American Girl style while they travel for the next month. **

**I'm glad you all managed to have faith in my writing, although not so much my emotional pregnant Bella, with the last chapter. I needed to do it though. This chapter explains way too much. LOL**

**Much love to my lovely GoogleTalk ladies, MaggieMay14 (beta extraordinare), lovebuggkiss and Flightlessbird11 who keep me sane and give me decent ideas.**

**FIC REC: Go check out A Deeper Shade of Green by Lola84... awesome story. Great writing and very funny. She needs the reviews people. This is a way underappreciated story. Spread the news!**

**I don't own twilight, but I do have a sleeping toddler passed out from playing in the sprinklers though.**

**EPOV**

I was awoken around five in the morning by someone sitting on the edge of the couch, compressing it down. "Trying to sleep over here," I commented as I pulled the blanket against me, even though I hadn't actually slept all night. I had spent the entire night lying here; staring at the ceiling wondering what the hell had gone wrong. I did everything just the way Charlie had described it in the boat earlier in the day. It was perfect, he was certain she would love it and then she said she needed to think. My heart still ached.

"Why in god's name are you sleeping down here?" asked Charlie as I groaned, not really eager to talk to anyone this morning. I rolled over so that I was lying on my back, my arms resting behind my head and looked at him anxiously.

"Bella didn't say yes."

"Lord love a duck, why not?" he exclaimed as I looked at him queerly. "Sorry, that's a saying I use instead of cursing like a sailor on leave. Some of the townsfolk don't appreciate a Police Chief with a potty mouth." I nodded my head in understanding.

"She thinks I'm doing it because of the baby," I admitted sadly as Charlie patted me on the back trying to be as supportive as he could be considering his daughter just rebuffed my marriage proposal. "When she said she needed to think about it, I mentioned that we should get married because we are having a baby," I said ruefully. I knew that had been one of my mistakes.

"She knows you love her, I just think she was overwhelmed," explained Charlie as I nodded my head in acknowledgement of his words.

"I haven't messed up beyond repair have I?" I asked; a hopeful inflection to my voice.

"Don't worry son, things will work out. Just have a little faith in your love. Renee was an emotional basket case the entire time she was pregnant with Bella, perhaps it's hereditary," he said with a slight laugh as I sat up beside him, my chin now resting in my hands which were propped up on my knees. God I hoped it wasn't hereditary

"I'm heading into the station for a few hours, but I'll be back after breakfast."

"Hey Charlie… do you think Renee might have said something to do her last night? I mean, I've never really been her favorite person," I asked curiously. Renee hadn't really liked me since the moment Bella called her mom from Europe and told her about me, but I didn't see her as the type to talk her daughter out of accepting my proposal. I really thought that we had gotten over our differences in the past few years, but after last night, I wasn't so sure anymore.

"No, I don't think so. Renee told me what they talked about and it wasn't about you proposing, so don't worry about it Edward." Of course my interest was completely piqued as I wondered what the hell Renee and Bella actually did talk about last night on the porch.

"Thanks Charlie, for everything," I said as I walked him out of the den and noticed the sun was actually trying to come out. I stepped quietly up the stairs and went into the bedroom to grab some shorts and a t-shirt out of my bag. I snatched my iPod off the dresser and fished around in my laptop bag for my arm band which held my iPod in place when I ran.

Once I was completely dressed to go for a run, I looked down at Bella and my heart broke. Her eyes were all red and puffy, no doubt from crying, and she was holding onto some sad looking brown teddy bear for dear life. I kissed her forehead gently and stepped out of the room as quietly as when I had arrived. A few minutes later I was running down the darkened street, desperate to think of anything but of my fucked up proposal.

The further I ran, the less I knew where I was and the lighter the day was becoming. My feet kept a steady pace as I ran along the sidewalks of the town and thought about how to convince Bella I was sincere in my desire to marry her. She was even more stubborn than usual now that she was pregnant, so this was going to take a lot of work. I sat down on a bench in a nearby park to catch my breath and tried to think of a way to fix this.

**BPOV**

"Good Morning Bella," said my mom happily as I strolled into the kitchen, wistful over the scent of coffee that I couldn't have due to the pregnancy. _Oh my best friend caffeine, I miss you_. I ignored her talking to me and opened the fridge, thinking a glass of milk would hit the spot right about now. "How was the drive?"

"It was an utter disaster and let's not talk about it, okay?" I asked quietly, hoping that I wouldn't start crying again. I didn't think I had any tears left to cry anyways. Why the fuck didn't I say yes. "Where are Edward and Dad?"

"Oh, your dad got called into the station this morning and I don't know where Edward is baby. He couldn't have gone far, the SUV is still in the driveway," said my mom as she offered me some apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast.

"No Thanks," I replied as I strolled back upstairs and sat on the bed for a moment, noticing Edward's pajamas on the floor. I looked around and noticed his running shoes and iPod were gone so I figured he had gone out for a run. I tossed on some shorts and one of Edward's old NYU sweatshirts and went downstairs, dragging the teddy bear behind me.

"Bella, you need to eat something," my mother called out to me as I passed through the kitchen, grabbing a banana as I went outside. I felt five years old as I stepped out the back door and across the yard, clutching a teddy bear and a banana. I strolled into the garage and sat down in the passenger seat of the Impala, staring out the windshield, wondering what the hell had gone wrong.

I had wanted to say yes, with every single bone in my body I wanted to say yes. But I couldn't help this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that said he was only doing this because of the baby. It was like all my logic flew out the window the moment I got pregnant. God I hoped this didn't continue for the entire pregnancy. I flipped open my cell phone and dialed Alice. She was a little bit biased in the situation, but all of my friends were. She would be the most impartial, at least I hoped she would.

"Well, good morning Mommy," said a very chipper sounding Alice. I was kind of envious about how happy she seemed this morning, then again she hadn't just fucked up her life. I took a bite of my banana and quickly responded.

"Morning," I replied as I continued to chew on my banana and I messed with the tag of the teddy bear resting on my lap. I desperately wanted to lift my feet onto the dash but I thought my father would kill me if he saw that.

"How did it go? The parentals take the news good?" she asked curiously as I heard her take a sip of something in the background.

"Alice, are you drinking coffee?" I asked slightly upset. I had gone two weeks without any sort of coffee and it was driving me nuts. Even the smell was intoxicating and frustrating.

"No, it's some Chai Tea they had down at Starbucks. Jas thinks I should lay off the caffeine for a while," she said seriously as we both broke out into laughter. If there was one person on the face of the earth who didn't need caffeine, it was definitely Alice Cullen.

"The parents took the news as well as could be expected. Esme and Charlie were overjoyed at the prospect of being grandparents. Carlisle was a bit surprised and still hasn't said much about it, while Renee was upset and stormed out of the house," I admitted as I thought back to the conversation Renee and I had on the porch the night before.

"_Bella, I had such high hopes for you when you got accepted into Columbia. You were heading off to the big city to be the person you always wanted to be and I was so proud of you. The last thing I wanted you to do was get quickly into some serious relationship when you should have been following your dreams," explained my mother as we sat on the back porch together, the tears falling from her face._

"_You don't want me with Edward because you want me to achieve my dreams?" I asked nervously._

"_I don't want anything or anyone to hold you back Bella."_

"_Edward doesn't hold me back mom. If anything, he is just one of the puzzle pieces I need to be as happy as I am. He makes everything complete and so does the baby," I tried to explain to her, to no avail._

"_Now this baby is just going to mess everything up. Do you really think your new boss will have no issue with the fact that you got pregnant before you even started your first day?" she inquired as I felt the tears forming in my own eyes. She was frustrating me beyond belief at this point. I didn't know what my bosses would think, but my career wasn't as important as my family was. I had come to that conclusion the moment I read all the pregnancy tests on the ground with Alice by my side. The moment those sticks all read that I was expecting, I knew my life had changed, for the better in my opinion._

"_Why do you seem to assume that I can't have the perfect boyfriend, job and a baby? Are you so upset with the way your life turned out that you are hell bent on ruining mine?" I snapped at her and she looked back at me with complete shock in her eyes._

"_I don't mean it like that Bella," she began to explain nervously as she began fidgeting with her fingers, just like I always did when I was anxious. "I love your father and our life together, I really do. I just can't help thinking there should be more."_

"_Edward is my more…"_

"_Are you sure you are ready for this? You're only twenty two years old Isabella," she added, as though she thought my age would deter me from having this baby._

"_Did you ever think about not having me?" I asked curiously as she opened her mouth in surprise._

"_No."_

"_Then I guess you know the answer already, don't you mom?"_

"Earth to Bella… what did your mom say?" asked Alice as she broke me from my memory of the night before.

"She thinks I'm tossing away a great future career by choosing the baby and Edward over my job," I said with a sigh as I heard Alice scoffing on the other of the phone. "I don't think she believes I can handle it all."

"Got to love that small town mentality. You need to let you mom know that in Manhattan women have kids, careers, yoga classes, manicure appointments, husbands, lovers… A successful woman can have anything she wants. Speaking of which, I heard Edward proposed last night," she said, albeit reluctantly.

"Yeah."

"Tell me all about it, I bet it was perfect."

I explained to Alice how Edward proposed to me the exact same way my dad had proposed to my mother like twenty five years ago and she was actually swooning, finding it very romantic. "Too bad I had to go and fuck it up by saying I needed to think about it."

"Jesus Bella, why did you say that?" she asked, now sounding both angry and disappointed. "Fuck, Edward must be crushed. No wonder he hasn't answered any of my calls this morning."

"He's only doing it because of the baby Alice," I replied as I heard her begin muttering curse words under her breath.

"Shit. I'm late for class. Edward is not doing it because of the baby Bella. Talk to him," she pleaded with me before she hung up, apparently extremely late for one of her summer classes.

I decided to try to let Alice's words sink in so I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and put it on shuffle, letting whatever music came out of the earphones drag me away from my screwed up life.

_I've been down this road before  
I walk out the door  
leave you on the floor  
sometimes you run and hide  
your foolish prides  
what keeps me from giving you more_

so the best thing  
I can give to you  
is for me to go  
leave you alone  
cause you got growin' up to do

some day I'll return when it's time  
for payment in kind  
the church bells'll chime  
you'll stand before me surrounded by lights  
dressed in white  
you'll throw flowers in the air  
this night

*Knock Knock*

I was suddenly pulled from my Joshua Radin induced crying fit by my father knocking on the driver's side window of his old car. I unlocked the door, turned off my iPod as he sat down beside me, looking just as frustrated as Edward had last night.

"I heard you had a rough night," he said genuinely as I leaned across the seat and laid my head on shoulder, the bear still sitting on my lap.

"You could say that," I replied quietly. Charlie's hand swept across the back of the seat and he wrapped his arm tight around me, holding me close.

"Did you want to talk about it?" he asked sweetly as more tears fell down and across my cheeks.

"I'm sure you already know what happened," I added as Charlie merely grinned and nodded. Of course Edward had talked to him about it; they probably saw each other earlier this morning before Edward went for his run.

"Why did you say no?" asked Charlie as I my jaw hit the floor and I stared at him incredulously.

"I didn't say no. I said I needed time to think about it," I replied as Charlie patted my arm. "This is just the worst possible timing. He's only asking because of the baby and I didn't want him to feel obligated to propose to me because of the peanut. I wanted him to ask because he wanted to," I said sadly as I started to cry.

I felt Charlie's free hand against my cheek as he brushed the tears away from me. "Bells, I hope you listen to me better than you do Edward, cause I'm only going to say this once. Edward wants to marry you, not because of the baby, but because he loves you. Hasn't he said for years that he would marry you?"

"My dad, the wise love guru huh?" I said with a small tear filled snicker as his words hit my heart and I suddenly ached to be with Edward.

"He asked me for permission to marry you when we were in New York for graduation week," said Charlie as I whipped my head around and threw my hands against my face, desperate to remove all the tears. "Yes Bella, he asked me BEFORE there was a peanut."

"Oh my god."

"From what I understand, he's actually had the ring for a while, even before he asked my permission," explained Charlie as I started sobbing into his shoulder. "So even though you think he's only doing this because you ended up getting pregnant, he's not."

"I screwed everything up Daddy," I said as he hugged me closer to him and my sobs came louder.

"No you didn't Bells. He's upset, sure, but he wants to marry you, so you guys will work this out. When he gets back from his run, sit down and talk to him Bella. You and Edward are meant to be together, so let your brain override your pregnancy hormones and go get your man," laughed Charlie as I hugged him tightly.

"Do you remember when you got that bear?"he asked with a grin as he looked down at my hands, still fiddling with the tag on the end of the bear.

"Well, I know I got it the day I was born and you gave it to me, but do I actually remember it, no," I said with a laugh as he ruffled my hair like he used to when I was younger.

"It was the only stuffed animal left in the gift shop. Apparently Forks had a baby boom that September and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. I can't wait to buy something for your little peanut."

"You're going to be the best grandfather," I replied confidently as he smiled brightly in return.

"Yeah, well that kid lucked out in the mother department."

**EPOV**

Two hours later, I turned the corner and was jogging back towards Bella's parent's house. I had to laugh when I saw my parents pulling into the driveway and they appeared to be arguing about something, most likely how slow of a driver my father was. The moment my mother saw me she was all smiles, no doubt ready to start planning our wedding when we weren't even engaged yet.

"How did it go?" she asked when I slowed my pace and was now a few feet in front of her.

"Well, don't go planning any huge formal weddings yet," I said with a sigh as my mom walked closer to me and was about to hug me until she noticed how hot and sweaty I was from the run.

"She said no?" said Esme incredulously as my dad walked up behind me and patted me on the back, trying to be supportive. He actually looked a little disheartened that we weren't engaged yet. My father wasn't the most vocal about his feelings but if there was one thing we all knew for certain, he loved Bella. She was like his second daughter, the one who spent A LOT less of his money.

"I need to go make a few calls for the office, so I'm going to step inside for a moment," said my father as he gave me a reassuring glance and I sat on the porch beside my mom, trying to figure things out.

"I've been running for two hours and I have no idea what I did wrong. I proposed to her just like her dad did with her mom like twenty five years ago and it was perfect. The radio even played a song that was special to us, and here I am… still not engaged," I said sadly as I rested my sweaty head on her shoulder.

"Aww… you're going to be a dad soon and here you are acting like a confused fifteen year old," said Esme with a slight chuckle as I frowned.

"Thanks for the support _grandma_," I snickered in response. I thought it might piss her off to call her that but of course she smiled brightly.

"She loves you. Maybe she's just scared. I was scared when your father proposed… actually it was more like petrified, but I knew he was the one the moment I met him," she said sweetly, something my mother wasn't quiet known for.

"What if Bella thinks love isn't enough?" I retorted as my mother reached down and gripped my hand.

"If there wasn't a baby, would you still have proposed?" she asked as I looked at her in frustration.

"Of course I would have, you know that. I've wanted to marry her since… well since forever," I replied easily as my mother broke out into a huge smile.

"Well then, tell her that. Tell her this wasn't a 'because of the sweet pea situation'" advised Esme as I laughed her.

"It's peanut, not sweet pea mom," I explained as she rubbed my hand lightly in hers.

"Peanut, Macadamia Nut… whatever. In all seriousness, I think Bella is probably just being overly emotional and didn't really take the time to let your proposal settle. Give her some time, be regular sweet Edward and things will correct themselves in time. Make sure you tell her that this isn't because of the baby," she said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and gave me a gentle hug. "Now go in that house and take a shower. You smell like old shoes."

I laughed heavily at my mom and when I walked in the house, Bella was walking in the back door with Charlie, a faint smile on her face, which got wider when she saw me at the door with my mother.

"Hi," she said quietly as she walked towards me and I nodded my head, completely unsure of what to say.

I glanced around the room and noticed Renee and Carlisle watching from the kitchen. Charlie was still standing beside Bella and Esme was next to me, but they quickly moved to join their spouses, who were all pretending to get coffee while Bella approached me.

"Hi, how did you sleep?" I asked nervously. Fuck. I have been dating this girl for four fucking years, she's pregnant with my baby and suddenly I get nervous around her. What the hell?

"I didn't, but its okay. I had a talk with my dad and everything's better now," she said slowly as I noticed all the parents still watching us out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh. You should go get some rest then Bella. I need to go shower," I said anxiously as I started to head towards the stairs and Bella gripped my hand tightly.

"Ask me again."

"What?" I said as I looked at her a little shocked.

"Ask me again. Ask me to marry you."

"Bella, I am dripping sweat and our entire family is watching us. This really isn't the best time. I'd really prefer…" I started to say before she cut me off. Her hands on her hips and she looked pissed.

"Edward Cullen, ask me to marry you before I totally flip out and go all Chuck Norris on you," she said with a giggle before she turned all serious. "I screwed up. I know this now. I know you want me… not just me because of the peanut. I want you too, so get down on your fucking knee and propose." I couldn't help but be both turned on and angry at her reaction, but I was so glad she realized that I wanted _her_ that I didn't care.

"Isabella Swan, will you marry me?" I finally choked out after I finally got down on my knee and waited as she looked down at me and started crying.

"Yes."

I stood up and hugged her tightly praying I never had to let her go, even though I felt really bad about the fact that I stank and was completely sweaty. I gripped her face tight in my hands as I began peppering small kisses all over her face and neck, trying to show her how much I loved her, without having to resort to making love to her on the floor while our parents stood ten feet away.

"I should have said yes last night. I'm so sorry Edward." I kissed her gently, knowing full well our parents were still all watching because I heard my mother break out into tears.

"It's about damned time," added Charlie as we pulled apart and they all walked over to give us their congratulations. They each took turns hugging us tightly, even Renee, which surprised me considering her reaction to our baby news. She had been happy about the engagement when it was discussed back in New York during graduation, but after last night I kind of expected the same reaction.

"I'm assuming you guys want to get married before the baby comes right?" asked my mother as her eyes darted between Bella and I.

"Um, we haven't talked about it yet," sighed Bella as she gripped my hand tightly, trying to fend off the wedding planning Nazi that is my mother. "I think Edward should go take a shower and then bring me my ring before we make any decisions about anything." I ran off like a flash up the stairs to my luggage and pulled the ring out of the box, almost dropping it on the floor twice in my haste to get back downstairs. After finally descending the stairs, I eagerly grabbed Bella's left hand and slipped the ring on slowly, making sure it fit perfectly. Once it was in place, I kissed her hand and then her lips, a little too forcefully considering the company we were in.

"Make sure you take it off before you get too pregnant, it will cut off circulation," said Charlie as we all looked at him a bit incredulously for even knowing this information. "What? Renee had that problem. It's not like I am making up random things here."

"Thanks for the suggestion Dad," replied Bella with a wide grin as I noticed her staring at her hand closely, examining the ring. "Okay… go shower, so our mothers can overwhelm us with wedding ideas and then we can have a nap." I nodded at Bella as I ran upstairs and had the quickest shower of my life, smiling the entire time as I realized I was now engaged to Bella. She was going to be my wife.

When I finally ran back down the stairs, the entire family was sitting in the living room and Bella looked very uncomfortable. "What did I miss?" I asked as I sat beside her on the love seat and pulled her onto my lap, rubbing her back gently as I tried to make her relax.

"Well let's see… my mother thinks we should get married here in Forks. You're mother thinks we should get married in Boston and Charlie thinks it's funny if I wear white. Did I cover it all?" she asked as she looked around at our parents with a frown.

"I don't think we should get married before the baby comes," I admitted as everyone in the room looked at me with total shock.

"I agree," Bella replied as I squeezed her tightly to me, her head now resting on my shoulder and her breathing slowing. She was so tired. "With Rosalie and Emmett's wedding coming up a month before the baby is due, it's only logical that we wait. I'm her maid of honor and I barely have enough time in the day to help her, let alone plan my own wedding."

"Bella…" my mother began to say before I quickly cut her off.

"Alright then, so that's set then. No wedding till after the baby comes." I gripped Bella's hips and lifted her off of my quickly. "I think you four should head out to lunch down at the diner while Bella and I catch up on some much needed sleep."

Thankfully they all nodded at me and stood from their seats. I grasped Bella's left hand and dragged her up the stairs with me. I yanked down the covers of her small bed and she peeled off her clothes, leaving her in a pair of boy shorts and her bra and then climbed in. I followed close behind her after stripping down to my boxers. When I curled up behind her and wrapped my arms tight around her, she was holding up her left hand and looking happily at her ring.

"It's beautiful," she said sweetly as I kissed her temple.

"It's nothing compared to you," I replied as she turned around and kissed my lips passionately, her hands now reaching up into my hair and pulling me closer to her. My body instantly reacted and I thought of taking her right here, on her childhood bed. Then I heard the door downstairs close and I thought better of it. "I know now would be the perfect time to celebrate this engagement, but we both really need some sleep."

"I know," sighed Bella. "I want you right now, but I know that according to my book you're going to have to start beating me off with a stick. Apparently I'm going to get a little bit horny in my second trimester."

I looked down upon her with a smile and kissed her on the forehead, then the lips. "I'm looking forward to that Mrs. Cullen."


	13. Forks, WA to Klamath, CA

**A/N: I know, I've been slack on updating, but I should be doing it at least twice a week going forward. Edward and Bella are going to be traveling for the next few chapters so expect a lot of fluff and lemons, this chapter is no exception.**

**Thanks to flightlessbird11 and maggiemay14 for their assistance with this chappie. Oh… and I am sure you are all going to be envious, but Maggie and I have our tickets for Joshua Radin in Toronto on September 16****th****. He's touring all across the US, so get your butts in gear and find out when he's coming to your town!**

**I don't own twilight, but I do own a hell of a lot of mega blocks that are currently all over my floor.**

**BPOV**

"Drive safe and call us when you stop for the night," shouted my mother as Edward and I got safely buckled into the Yukon and were about to pull out of their driveway. I was kind of relieved to be leaving Forks after everything that had happened in the past six days. Between the pregnancy, the engagement and our bickering parents, I just wanted to get away from it all.

"Sure thing Mom," I called back to her as Edward and I both waved and he started heading down the street and onto the main highway out of Forks. Carlisle and Esme had left a day earlier, much to the relief of everyone else. Esme was beyond excited about being a grandmother, even though she thought until she looked much older the baby should call her 'Aunt Esme', which Edward and I both thought was absolutely ridiculous. Even Carlisle seemed to be warming up to the prospect of being a grandfather, but I think it helped that we were engaged finally and this wasn't some crazy scheme I had plotted to become a Cullen and have the first Cullen heir.

Of course the verdict was still out on my mother. Charlie had embraced both the engagement and baby wholeheartedly and while Renee was pleased we were engaged, she still seemed to think the baby was a bad idea. I know she had higher hopes for me than becoming a mother at twenty three, but I wouldn't change the path I was on with Edward for the world.

"So, I know we are going south, but where should we go first?" asked Edward as I pulled out a map and began to scope for a destination that was suitable.

"Eugene, Oregon. Ooh, there's a good name if it's a boy… Eugene Cullen, it has a nice ring to it," I said with a laugh as Edward was completely silent. "It even keeps with the E tradition, you know. Emmett, Edward, Eugene."

"Over my dead body will we call our future child Eugene," he stated firmly as I continued to laugh at him and the fact that he thought I was serious. I scanned through the map and tried to figure out how long it would take us to drive to San Francisco, since that was where I wanted to go most of all right now. "Since I am now forced to sit here and drive us, I kind of miss taking the train everywhere. It was nice; I was able to spend more time focusing on you."

"Don't you mean you could spend more time focusing on getting into my panties?" I asked curiously as Edward simply nodded his head. "I wasn't stupid you know. Lucky for you, I fell for your brand of nonsense."

"Why aren't we stopping in Portland?" asked Edward curiously as we passed by a road sign that mentioned there was 230 miles to the city.

"I kinda want to get to San Francisco as soon as we can. Eugene is only like 2 hours further south, so it only made sense, plus, it's only nine in the morning. If we stop in Portland, it will be noon," I laughed as he agreed and reached over to turn on the radio and 'Hotel California' by the Eagles came on and we both started to sing along, rather loudly.

"Do you think the baby can hear us butchering classic rock?" asked Edward nervously as I looked at him incredulously.

"I don't think the baby even has ears yet, so don't worry," I said with a smile as we continued our drive while singing along like complete idiots. We ended up stopping for lunch in Portland at a small diner, where our lovely waitress Fern, the world's oldest waitress according to our calculations because she honestly looked 110, told us about america's biggest glockenspiel, which piqued Edward's interest. Anything musical and he was in.

Needless to say, forty minutes later, we were on our way to Mount Angel to see the glockenspiel, which was only a little out of our way. When we got out of the SUV, I think Edward and I were both a little surprised by its size.

"Holy fuck," he muttered as I punched him on the shoulder for cursing when there were several small children around.

"Watch your mouth. Don't make me institute a swear jar before our kid is old enough to even understand what a swear word is," I said with a laugh as Edward draped his arm on my shoulder and led me from the parking lot. "I can't believe it's almost 50 feet. Darn, we missed the one o'clock performance."

"We can always stay till four if you want Bella. It's not like there is anything exciting awaiting us in Eugene," he chuckled as we took a few pictures and then began walking around the Edelweiss Village it was a part of. The entire town reminded me of Germany and when we came across a chubby guy in lederhosen handing out flyers in front of the local information center, I completely understood why. Apparently the town also housed a gigantic Oktoberfest festival, which oddly enough took place in September. "This town is also home to the World's Largest Hairball, if you're interested Bella."

"No thanks babe, I think I will pass.

"Mount Angel is actually home to several other oddities you might find interesting," stated lederhosen man as Edward reluctantly took the pamphlet he was handing out and we continued walking along the quaint streets.

Just before three, we made our way back to the car and hooked up the wireless modem on Edward's computer to do a little research. We had taken Alice's planning for granted when she was with us and I now found myself searching aimlessly for somewhere to stay for the night. We ended up on agreeing on a small hotel just off of the highway on the south side of the city. We both seemed eager to get on the road the next morning and get to San Francisco, where I was hoping to spend a few days before continuing on.

"Okay, let's go mommy, it's almost time for the four o'clock performance. I want to see it and get to Eugene, since the grilled cheese Fern served me for lunch didn't exactly fill me up," he said seriously as I closed up the laptop and gripped his hand firmly, letting him lead me from the car and down the road to the village again.

We listened intently for almost fifteen minutes to the music, before the show finally ended. Surprisingly, there was a lot of street and vehicle traffic blocking the street and it took us almost half an hour to finally get back onto the highway. "Well that was interesting," I said with a smile as Edward continued south on highway five towards our hotel.

"Interesting… sure, that's the word I would use to describe it. Everyone was giving us creepy looks and I felt like they made real horror movies there. Did you see the guy with the hunchback near the post office? He gave me the willies," laughed Edward as I plugged in his iPod and laid my head back against the seat, hoping to catch a bit of sleep before we got to our destination.

When I finally woke, we were pulling off the highway and towards the hotel. "Can we order room service? I don't feel like going out for dinner," I whined as I looked at the clock and noticed it was nearing six already.

"Sure babe, why don't we go check in and then we'll get comfy in our room okay?" I nodded my head and got out of the car, helping with some of the bags before we stepped into the hotel. Edward was walking in front of me and stopped at the check in desk as I suddenly found myself staring at his ass and envisioning it naked. He was only wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a polo shirt, but I couldn't help but find myself walking towards him and slipping my hand up the back of his shirt, running my nails slowly against him.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I stood beside him, practically drooling at the two day old stubble that had formed on his jaw. Fuck, I wanted to lick his jaw.

"Perfectly fine," I choked out as the woman behind the counter handed Edward our key and flittered her eyes between me and him, as though she was surprised he was with someone. I held up my hand, not so casually and flashed my huge diamond in her direction. "Come on baby, let's get upstairs so I can ravish you."

He perked up his eye brow and looked at me in surprise as he finished signing the slip and I grasped his hand tightly, pulling him towards the elevator. "What was that?" he asked as I shrugged my shoulders. "Are you sure you don't want to piss on me so people know I'm taken."

"Is that an option?" I asked with a snicker as Edward rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get comfy and order our dinner," he stated as we got off on the third floor and wandered towards our room. As Edward was ordering room service, I stepped into the bathroom with my luggage and rummaged through it until I found the sexiest thing I could find. A sheer babydoll, this will do for now. I undressed and slipped it on as I waited impatiently, listening for Edward to get off the phone. "Bella, I ordered you the oriental chicken salad, but they said it would be at least an hour till they got here," he called through the door as I suddenly whipped it open and stood against the door frame, waiting for a reaction.

"An hour is more than enough time for what I have planned," I said seductively as I wandered into the room and noticed his eyes checking me out from my feet to the top of my head, clearly approving of the outfit.

"Fuck you look delicious," he groaned as I suddenly had my chest flush against him and was tugging on his belt, desperate to get my hands on his cock. "Easy their baby, we have time." I huffed indignantly as Edward stood back from me and quickly began to undress himself before finally sitting on the small, nasty looking couch in our room.

"Edward… now is not the time for rest," I sighed as he reached his finger out and motioned for me to join him.

"Come here Bella." I sauntered over to him and sat on his lap, his hard cock, sadly hidden beneath his boxers, now firm against my ass. "I know you are horny as hell baby, fuck, I am too… but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy this." Edward leaned his head forward and buried it in my neck, kissing me tenderly before he moved his hands up and began to massage my breasts, teasing my nipples which made me groan in pleasure.

"Oh fuck, more…" I muttered as Edward peeled the straps of my lingerie down to reveal my breasts to him. He immediately placed his lips and tongue on my nipple, flicking it gently before biting on it softly and causing me to buck my body, in turn rubbing against his hard on.

"You are so beautiful Bella. I wished we had made love after I proposed… both times," he uttered as I gripped his hair in my hands and pulled his face to mine for a passionate kiss.

"I am so sorry I screwed it all up," I explained as I felt Edward's hand move up my thigh to my thong covered pussy, which he pushed aside before slipping a finger along my wet folds.

"You didn't screw up anything Bella. We're not exactly the typical couple. I think everything was perfectly fucked up for us. The ring is where it should be and that is all that matters to me," he stated before shoving two fingers inside of me, causing me to scream his name loudly in pleasure.

"Fuck me," I added as Edward suddenly lifted me from him and carried me over to our bed, pulling my babydoll and thong off the moment he had me lying down. He tugged off his own boxers before finally situating himself right between my legs, his cock practically trying to force its way back to its home.

Edward kissed his way from my lips down to my stomach, before finally gripping my hips and thrusting his cock deep inside of me, eliciting a groan from each of us upon contact. "Oh Christ," he stammered as he continued plunging in and out of my pussy before reaching up with one hand and rubbing my clit forcefully.

"Ugh… more… more," I grunted as Edward put more pressure on my clit and was fucking me harder with every stroke. I was almost at the edge of release, when I pushed his hand away from me and began playing with myself so that he could focus on fucking me. "Fuck yes… just like that baby."

Within minutes I was exploding in ecstasy as Edward followed mere seconds later, his body collapsing next to mine on the bed and as he pulled me close to him, wrapping me tightly against his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied genuinely as there was a sudden knock on the door. "Shit. I thought they were going to be an hour."

"Yeah, me too," he said in frustration as he jumped off of the bed and pulled his shorts back on as I hightailed it to the bathroom to put on something … anything. A few minutes later, I wandered back out and noticed that Edward had dimmed the lights and had dinner setup on the small coffee table in the middle of the room. I sat down on the cushion he had set down for me to sit on and he sat across from me, waiting patiently.

"So… I was thinking about baby names, after our conversation in the car earlier today."

"Oh really," I replied as I was suddenly very interested in our conversation. "What exactly were you thinking about?"

"Well… it's a definite no on Eugene first of all," he said as I nodded in agreement. "I think that when we're in San Francisco we should find another bookstore and pick up a book. Sort through it during the rest of the trip and have a few options available. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," I said as I thrust the first bite of salad into my mouth.

"Are you going to ever tell me what you bought at Borders a few weeks ago?" I asked curiously as the sudden discussion of books reminded me that he never did show me what he bought.

"I'll show you later tonight… okay?"

"Sure, sounds good. Now let me eat," I replied as we sat there in silence for the longest time simply enjoying the meal and the company.

**EPOV**

I have no idea what spurred on Bella's need for sex the moment we walked in the door of our hotel, but I wasn't complaining. As dinner was winding down, I had to run out to the car to grab my duffle bag which held the book I had bought at Borders and when I came back upstairs, she was already nestled in bed waiting for me.

"What took so long," she asked as I smiled brightly at her and pulled my shorts off, completely forgetting I hadn't put my boxers on after our session earlier. I shrugged my shoulders and climbed into bed beside her, only to find out she was also nude, which made me laugh.

"We're too alike," I said with a grin as I pulled her towards me and tried to be sly as I opened the bag. "Okay… so when we were at Borders, I kinda wandered into the kids section."

Bella's eyes grew wide as I pulled 'Guess How Much I Love You' from the bag and leaned towards her stomach and started reading. "Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare's very long ears."

"What in god's name are you doing Edward?" asked Bella as she took the book from my hand and started to look it over.

"I'm reading to peanut. Can you give me the book back please?" I asked sweetly as Bella held it from me for a moment.

"You bought a book to read to the peanut?" she asked incredulously as I nodded my head. I hadn't thought this was a bad idea until now.

"My father, in what was probably one of his only good moves as a dad in the early days of my life, used to read me the same book on a regular basis and when I saw it at the store, I thought it would be sweet," I explained awkwardly.

"This is officially the cutest fucking thing you have ever done," she exclaimed as she dropped the book in her lap and gripped my face in her hands, kissing me all over the place. I was blushing profusely when she finally released me and handed the book back so that I could finish reading. When I was done, I kissed her belly and pulled sheets tight around us, as I wrapped her tight in my arms and buried my head in her neck. "Didn't you buy something else?"

"Yeah, I got two classical CD's to play for the baby in the womb. You know, toss some headphones on your belly and have peanut listen along," I said sincerely as I felt her lips kissing my chest.

"You are going to make the best dad, you do know that right?" she asked as she nestled closer to me and I kissed the top of her head.

"I hope so."

The next morning, we enjoyed the free muffins and coffee provided at the hotel's continental buffet before finally loading up the car and heading down the highway towards California. Bella was still a bit tired, so I opted to drive while she took a little nap until we got to Grant's Pass, where I stopped for a refill of coffee at ten in the morning.

When I got back into the car, Bella was sitting with her feet on the dash and my laptop on her knees. "Did you know that from here we can hop over on to the 199 and then drive down the northern coast of California?" she asked curiously as I offered her up the tea I had purchased for her.

"Is that what you want? To drive along the Pacific?" I inquired as she nodded her head and I looked down at the map she had on the screen. "Sounds good to me."

"We'll get into San Francisco tomorrow night, so as we drive along, I'll make a reservation somewhere for a few days. You are alright with us staying there for a bit right?" she asked curiously, apparently not too sure of where I wanted to go.

"Anywhere you want to go is fine with me. Consider the trip like Europe… you plan and I'll follow along, or drive us there, as the case may be this time around," I said with a laugh as I leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss before buckling up my seatbelt and getting us back onto the highway.

A little over two hours later, just before I was preparing for us to stop for lunch there was a loud noise from the Yukon and I pulled the SUV off to the side of the road as Bella woke up, stretching her arms over her head and looking at me curiously.

"What's wrong?" she asked as I unbuckled and stepped out of the car to figure out the problem. Fucking flat tire. Shit. I looked around the road and noticed we were basically in the middle of nowhere, so I pulled out my cell phone and had Bella hand me the rental car papers that were in the glove compartment. The rental agency called us a tow truck that came from a neighboring town to assist us. Bella ended up falling back asleep as I repeatedly played games of Solitaire on my laptop waiting for them to arrive.

"Looks like you got a problem," commented Daniel, the tow truck driver who finally arrived two hours later. He was a little rough around the edges in my opinion, but seemed nice enough. "We'll get the SUV loaded on up to the tow truck and then we'll head back to Klamath. That's the nearest town. You guys will probably need to stay overnight, there's a festival in town and the garage is kinda behind."

"Fucking perfect," I muttered under my breath as Bella grabbed some stuff from the front seat of the Yukon to take with us. "Is there a reason why you just can't change it on the side of the road?"

"Sir, you don't have a spare tire," laughed Daniel as I started to mutter a stream of profanities under my breath. I was in the midst of planning the death of both Jasper and the rental car company when Bella opened the trunk and tried to grab our bags of clothing to bring with us into the tow truck. "I'll take you guys down to the Independence Inn, the nicest one in town and the thing should be ready to go first thing in the morning.

"Sounds perfect Daniel. Thanks for your help," said Bella sweetly as I helped her into the truck and we waited patiently while he hooked the SUV up to take it to the shop. "We're not that far from where I wanted us to stop anyways Edward, so we'll just have an hour longer on the trip tomorrow. I'm sure we can make up some time." I nodded at Bella and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her tightly to me.

When we pulled in front of the Inn a little while later, I think Bella and I were both surprised by how quaint it looked. It had a dark red roof and had bright white siding all over it, with a long covered porch on the second floor overlooking the front yard. It looked more like a Boston area beach house than an Inn in Northern California. "Go inside and ask for Lucy. She'll hook you up with whatever you need. The Firelight Festival starts tonight around six and you guys are more than welcome to come, I'm sure you will love it," said Daniel sweetly as Bella and I hopped out of the truck. I gave him my cell phone number and asked him to call me as soon as he knew when the Yukon would be ready and he simply nodded his head and pulled away, leaving me and Bella to drag all of our stuff into the Inn.

"Welcome to the Independence Inn," said a slightly awkward male voice from behind the counter. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh… no. We're kinda stuck here for the night because of car trouble. Daniel told us to ask for Lucy," said Bella politely as the man looked us both over and seemed to laugh slightly. Alrighty then.

"She's actually downtown getting ready for the Festival, but we've got two rooms left and one of them is outside near the paddock so it smells a bit like horses. Do you like horses?" he asked curiously as Bella and I both raised our eye brows in confusion.

"We'll take the other room," I said sternly as he nodded his head and handed us a small form to fill out, which Bella did in mere moments before passing it back to him. As we waited for him to enter our details into the computer and provide us with a set of keys, Bella started to walk around the lobby of the small Inn and seemed pretty interested with everything. I had to admit that the place was actually pretty nice considering we were in the middle of nowhere.

"Alright Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, here are your keys," he said gently as he pushed them along the counter with our receipt. "If you can please sign here, you can head up to your room, which is at the top of the stairs, last door on the right."

"Thanks… Nigel," I replied coolly, after looking at his name tag to figure out who he was. I grabbed all of our bags with one hand, and Bella's hand with the other, leading us up to our room. When we stepped in, I couldn't help but feel relived as I tossed our bags onto a small chair by the door and threw myself down on the bed, which squeaked the moment I touched it. "I can't believe no one noticed there wasn't a spare tire."

"It's fine Edward. Let's just consider this another adventure," sighed Bella as she climbed up beside me on the bed and wrapped her arm across my chest, nestling her face into my neck. "Plus, there's a festival tonight. I bet we can get candied apples, cotton candy and all sorts of other treats."

"Then tomorrow morning we can find the podunk dentist to take care of all of your cavities," I said with a laugh as Bella kissed my cheek before standing back up and reaching for her purse.

"Let's go eat baby. We skipped lunch because of all this 'fun', so we're pretty hungry," she said with a giggle as she patted her stomach and I sat up, having completely forgotten that we needed to eat. We wandered out the front door of the Inn and headed down the main street, where we found a small diner on the street corner across from the park where they appeared to be finishing setting up for the festival.

"Evening folks, help yourself to a seat and I'll be right with you," said a woman, no older than us, who pointed to the various empty seats. We ended up with a small table for two in front of the window so that we could see what was happening at the park. Less than five minutes later, our waitress came over with some menus and quickly took our drink orders as some more people staring piling in for dinner. "You came on a great night, with the Firelight Festival and all," she explained genuinely as Bella and I both smiled at her.

We casually ate our dinner and were enthralled by the odd folks which surrounded us. Apparently you weren't allowed to use your cell phone in the diner, which I learned the hard way when Daniel called to give me an update on the SUV and I was forced to step outside. There was also some weird chap named Kirk who seemed to revel in telling everyone about the weirdest things, including how he often had night terrors and couldn't sleep with anyone. "I think he still lives with his mom," laughed Bella as we were waiting for the bill and there seemed to be an argument occurring at the counter where Kirk had perched himself.

"Oh good, just in time. Kirk here is about to tell us the difference between cows and humans," exclaimed the diner owner, Cooper, when a stunning brunette walked in and sat down, ordering a coffee and a donut, which Bella and I both found weird considering it was almost seven at night.

"Let's go check out this festival," I suggested as I threw some money on the table to pay for our dinner and Bella eagerly took my hand. We walked across the street, obeying all traffic laws since there was an older gentleman in a beige suit with patches on the elbows who looked like he might shank us if we jay walked, and wandered around the booths and tables for a bit.

Bella and I ended up buying some candy apples and munching on them happily as we sat in some chairs and listened to the band that played really bad 80's music on the small stage that was setup and surrounded by twinkle lights.

"This whole day feels so surreal to me," stated Bella as she took the last bite of her apple and handed the stick to me to throw away.

"Yeah… it's a little weird huh?" I replied as I took her hand in mine and held it gently while we listened to the band break into 'Keep on Loving You' by REO Speedwagon. I stood from my seat and pulled her with me, tugging her body close to mine and wrapping my arm around her waist, making her dance with me. "

"I feel like an idiot," laughed Bella as we strolled along the grass, dancing with a few of the other couples around us.

"There are other people dancing Bella, don't be so shy," I said with a laugh as she kissed my lips and pulled back, smiling cheerfully at me.

"Yeah, but they're all 90 and deaf. I don't think they even know where they are," she giggled as I spun her around slowly and then pulled her tight against my chest again.

"Bella, I don't know where we are, but I don't care. I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here with you right now."

**A/N: Next chapter Bella and Edward end up in San Francisco. If you've been before or live there, is there any where you think they should go?**


	14. Klamath, CA to San Francisco, CA

**A/N: I am so glad most of you caught all the Gilmore Girl references in the last chapter. My beta (maggiemay14), my partner in smut (flightlessbird11) and I are all big fans of the show and I couldn't resist. A lot of you were curious about the 'stunning brunette' who loved coffee, never fear, she is not going to show up again. She's modeled after the main character Lorelei. So you can all breathe a sigh of relief.**

**Let's get on to their adventures in San Francisco… shall we?**

**I don't own twilight, I did however find an old tape… yes I said tape… from an ex boyfriend today which he entitled 'Visualize Whirrled Hot Dogs". Title aside, it had awesome songs on it. LOL**

**BPOV**

The next morning after a quick shower, I sat on our squeaky metal bed at the Inn while Edward headed down to the shop to pick up the SUV. Daniel had called just after eight to let us know it was ready and with any luck we would be back on the road before ten, which suited me just fine.

I was originally intending to catch up on some reading while I waited, but instead I decided to grab Edward's laptop and began to do a little research into some of the sights in San Francisco. We already had our hotel room booked at the Fairmont San Francisco, which was chosen at Edward's insistence not mine. I think he was getting tired of sleeping on squeaky or twin sized beds and wanted something a little more luxurious.

I did a little research into art galleries, museums, restaurants and anything else that might be of interest to us while in town and as I was about to shut down the computer, I was alerted to a new email from Rosalie. She was bitching and moaning about wedding plans that were already going to shit, so I grabbed my cell phone and called her quickly. Most of her message was in all capital letters, so I knew she was livid.

"Rosalie, you do realize that the fact that your napkins aren't color-coordinated to the tablecloths is not the end of the world right?" I asked when she answered the phone with a grunt instead of any sort of polite greeting.

"Bella, you don't understand how ugly they look together," she sighed as I rolled my eyes and was glad that she couldn't actually see me right now. I smiled as Edward walked in a moment later and nodded his head to let me know the Yukon was all fixed and ready to go. "One is like a dark red and the other is practically maroon."

"Aren't they the same thing? If you don't like them, then change them Rosalie. You have the time and money," I replied as Edward climbed onto the bed in front of me and cocked his eye brow when he saw that I was wearing panties under the bathrobe and nothing else. I hadn't planned to take so long on the computer but the harried email from Rosalie had led to a change of plans.

"I sent you a picture with the email Bella, did you see it?" she asked frantically as I felt Edward's hand sneak up my leg and he caught me off guard. I looked up at Edward's darkened eyes, filled with lust and knew that I needed to either get off the phone or away from Edward.

"No," I replied to both of them, as I tried to open my email again on the laptop and had difficulty since I was also swatting Edward's hands away from my bare thighs.

"Go check it out Bella. Please, I need your opinion. I also want your thoughts on flowers, so I attached a few links to some possible arrangements for the tables," she said eagerly as I sighed for calling her in the first place. I thought Edward was going to be longer when he went to go get the SUV, and now I was stuck on the phone with her while my horny fiancée tried desperately to distract me.

"Rosalie, Edward and I were just about to get back on the highway to San Francisco," I stated to her somewhat firmly, hoping she would get the picture and offer me a way out. Unfortunately, Edward took this moment to hook the edge of my panties with his finger and yank them off of me, leaving me completely exposed to him. I couldn't help but smile as I noticed him lick his lips with a wide grin on his face. I wanted a little playtime just as much as he did but I certainly didn't want to do it with Rosalie on the other end listening to us. I had to draw the line somewhere.

"Bella, you're my maid of honor and you've been gone for all the major decisions. Please just take a look, I'm sure Edward can wait," she snapped as Edward removed the computer from my legs and laid it on the bed beside me, his fingers dipping into my wet folds as I groaned lowly and suddenly had Rosalie on the defensive on the other end of the phone. "Bella, I'm not asking much, just check out the fricking pictures."

"Fine Rosalie, give me a second," I replied as I tried to pull the laptop back on my lap only to have Edward grip it tightly with his hand, unwilling to let me use it. I let him lay it back on the bed and quickly turned my head towards the computer, trying unsuccessfully to avoid focusing on Edward who was now licking my clit furiously as I moaned his name loudly and looked at the pictures Rosalie had sent me. They looked the same fucking color.

"Hon, these look like the same color to me and this is really more of… oh sweet fuck… more of Alice's domain," I groaned as I heard Rosalie cursing on the other end of the phone.

"You're an art history grad Bella, look at the colors."

"Shit… hold on." I covered the handset and tried to push Edward off of me but it just spurred him on more. I threw my head back as he suddenly bit down on my clit and accidently dropped the phone. "Fuck me."

"What the fuck are you doing over there?" she asked curiously as I groaned again and threw out a few more profanities. "Are you guys fucking? You are so messed up. Email me later Bella, when your boyfriend isn't balls deep in you." Rosalie hung up on me before I even had a chance to correct her when she referred to Edward as my boyfriend.

I suddenly felt Edward slip two fingers inside me and put his tongue back on my clit as he finger fucked me crazily. "Holy fuck," I screamed as my orgasm overtook me and I shuddered around his fingers breathlessly. "What the hell got into you this morning?" I asked after I took a few moments to recover.

I lay back against the pillows and Edward moved beside me and kissed my cheek. "Do I need a reason to go down on my future wife?"

"Well no and I'm definitely not complaining, although I'd hate to be anywhere near Rosalie right now. She's probably having a conniption fit because I was no help. Do you think it's odd that we haven't told our friends back home that we're engaged?" I asked anxiously as he simply shook his head from side to side.

"It's not like we are getting married tomorrow. Let's just enjoy it between ourselves until we get back to New York. Then Alice can go all ape shit with ideas and planning," suggested Edward as I nodded and hopped off the bed. I grabbed the clothes I had laid out to wear for the day and insisted Edward wash up before we head out for the day. By the time he was out of the bathroom, I had gotten completely dressed and our bags were all packed.

"Let's head to San Francisco."

As we finally pulled into the city, I couldn't help but be thankful we were in a larger place than Klamath. I had missed New York more than I thought possible over the past several weeks and I suddenly felt at home. I searched through the iPod and put on 'Mr. E's Beautiful Blues' by the Eels, which seemed like the perfect song for our ride and by the time we got to the hotel, thanks to some lovely afternoon traffic downtown, it was just after five. We had time to check into our room and freshen up before taking a cab down to Chinatown to a restaurant recommended by Philip, the concierge.

By the time we finished our dinner, we decided to simply head back to the hotel and get some rest, hoping to get in several of the tourist attractions on the next day. As we laid in bed going through my copy of 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' Edward fell asleep with his head on my stomach and I honestly couldn't be bothered to move it, so that was how we slept for almost ten hours before finally waking up at eight the next morning, excited to get exploring the city. I had to take a few moments to pray to the porcelain gods as my morning sickness overwhelmed me before we left the hotel, but otherwise I was feeling fairly good.

"Where to first?" asked Edward when we finally stepped out onto Mason Street and looked in both directions. I shrugged my shoulders and tried to remember some of the places I wanted to go that I had seen online.

"Why don't we take a cab over to Ghirardelli Square, I'm craving chocolate." Edward laughed at me and grabbed my hand before walking us back towards the valet who hailed a cab for us. Within fifteen minutes we were walking into the Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop and my stomach felt like it hadn't eaten in days, even though we had a hearty breakfast before leaving the hotel. "I'm home."

"Whatever Bella, you're just being overdramatic. I wonder if there is a guy here who will give you free samples," joked Edward as I narrowed my eyes at him and walked towards the first display, covered in boxes with various chocolates in them.

"Are you still bitter about Brussels, four years later?" I asked coolly as I followed him further into the store where they had tons of displays set up, including some original machinery that was used to make chocolate years earlier. Then as though called upon by Edward, a young man around eighteen wandered over to me with a small tray and offered me some free chocolate. Before he walked away though, he winked suggestively at me and I let out a low groan.

"I seriously think you and chocolate are aphrodisiacs. Why is it every time we go somewhere with chocolate you get hit on?" he asked with a laugh as I watched him grab a tin filled with caramel filled milk chocolate squares, one of my weaknesses.

"No one hit on me when Rosalie dragged us all to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the weekend because she was PMS'ing," I pointed out proudly as he rolled his eyes.

"That's because every time she had a bite of chocolate she was moaning like she was having an orgasm and everyone in the place couldn't keep their eyes off of her," he recalled as I nodded my head and smiled brightly. That had been one hell of an interesting trip.

When we finally walked out of the store with forty dollars worth of chocolate, we decided to grab another cab down to Fisherman's Wharf and the moment we got there, Edward decided we were going to visit the Aquarium. I wasn't sure if the place would smell like fish, thus making me feel sick to my stomach again, but seeing his excitement made me willing to take a chance.

We spent almost two hours wandering around the exhibits and partaking in a tide pool feeding before realizing we had completely missed lunch again. "Why don't we just stay around here and have an early dinner?" asked Edward as we were checking out some of the starfish they had on display.

"Sounds good to me. I know we're at the wharf, but I hope they have something other than seafood. Peanut seems to hate it," I said with a laugh as Edward knowingly nodded his head, remembering me tossing my cookies at my parents' house only a week ago.

Once we had finished at the aquarium a little while later, we went and checked out some sea lions that were off the shore and Hyde Street Pier before finally making our way to a small restaurant for dinner. I ended up ordering a soup and salad while Edward got lobster, which although looked very appetizing, I knew wouldn't sit well with me.

We got back to our hotel around eight thirty and both of us were exhausted, so we decided to enjoy a bubble bath in our huge tub before finally heading to bed. "How about we check out the galleries tomorrow?" asked Edward as he slipped in behind me in the tub and once he had gotten comfortable and I laid my head against his chest, he placed both of his hands on my stomach gently.

"Do you realize how often you touch my stomach?" I asked curiously, but he didn't respond. "Last night you slept with your head there, and now you probably didn't even realize you did it, but your hands are there again."

"Your right Bella, I don't realize I do it but I hope you're not complaining."

"Not at all baby. I actually find it very endearing and it reminds me that you want this as much as I do," I said sincerely as he kissed the top of my head and held me close to him, my back against his chest. "Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant because I'm not showing and other times I can't help but wish January was here so that I could see if the baby looks like you or me. Hopefully you."

"Is it wrong that I wish we could fast forward the entire pregnancy and the baby was here too?" asked Edward as I felt his hands slide along my arms as though he was trying to reassure me.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," I said cheerfully.

**EPOV**

The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our room as we were getting ready and Bella was practically bursting with excitement to go see the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art because they had a Richard Avedon exhibit she wanted to see. I, of course, had no idea who the fuck Richard Avedon was and I was simply along for the ride.

"Good thing we didn't come yesterday," I said with a laugh when we walked into the museum. "They're closed on Wednesday's." Bella laughed happily with me as we wandered to the main desk and paid our fees and I grabbed a headset to listen along to information about the artists as we were admiring.

"I have to admit baby, it wouldn't be the same if you didn't pick up a headset," laughed Bella as I grabbed her hand tightly and shoved the small box for the headset into the pocket of my shorts.

"You didn't think I would trust an art history graduate from Columbia to teach me about art did you?" I said sarcastically as we headed up to the second floor first to see some of their permanent collection. After checking out a few pieces by Matisse, de Kooning and Jasper Johns, we headed into their photography exhibit where the Avedon photos were on display.

"Do you like them?" asked Bella curiously as we stood in front of one of his photos where the subject looked very familiar. I had pulled off the headset earlier because Bella couldn't seem to stop talking about the exhibits to me. Glad I spent ten bucks on this thing. I thought sarcastically.

"Is that Bob Dylan? That's his name right… the guy who kinda mumbles when he sings?" I asked anxiously as Bella nodded her head.

"Avedon was a well known celebrity photographer in his later years. He also did fashion photography but he started out doing street scenes and stuff like that. I'm actually impressed that the exhibit seems to encompass various points in his career and they don't just focus on the celebrities like this photo of Bjork over here," stated Bella confidently as she pointed to a photo of a slightly angry looking brunette with a side ponytail.

"Didn't she dress like a duck at the Oscars? I think I recall Alice bitching to me about that for ages and I think she was only like ten at the time," I said through laughter as Bella smiled and nodded and then told me a bit about the film that was nominated, Dancer in the Dark.

Before we even realized how late in the day it was, Bella's stomach started to grumble loudly. I grasped her hand firmly and led her down to the small café in the museum which was featuring specials from a Georgia O'Keefe cookbook, which simply thrilled Bella. As we ate, we decided to head down to Pier 33 and catch a boat over to Alcatraz for the rest of the afternoon.

"Are you sure you are up for more walking?" I asked curiously as we stepped out of the cab and onto the street in front of the piers.

"I'm fine really. I'm not even three months along yet. Once I start getting cankles and my breathing seems labored, then you can worry about me. I doubt that will be for a while though," stated Bella firmly as she entwined her fingers into mine and led me down the street towards the ticket booth.

"What the fuck is a cankle?" I asked curiously as we waited in line and I immediately regretted cursing since there was a five year old boy standing in front of us with his grandparents. At least I hoped they were his grandparents.

"Oh my god… Don't you remember that Family Guy episode where Peter becomes friends with Bill Clinton? Bill was near Quahog judging a cankle contest and his car broke down." My face was even more confused that she was referencing Family Guy so I just shrugged my shoulders. "Anyways, cankles are basically swollen ankles and it looks like you have no definition between the foot and the leg. It happens in pregnancy, but since you keep falling asleep when I read the baby book, it's understandable that you don't know."

"I'm assuming this happens later in the pregnancy?" I asked with honest curiosity as Bella nodded her head and it was our time to pay for our tickets. "Good."

Half an hour later, we were getting off the boat at the island and getting ready for an afternoon of exploring. I was practically bouncing up and down when they handed Bella and I headsets for the audio tour of the cellblocks. "What language would you prefer?" asked the attendant who was handing out the audio sets.

"What are the options?" asked Bella with a grin as I cocked my eye brow at her curiously. Some days she had issues with the English language, how the fuck was she going to understand Cantonese or whatever the hell she chose.

"The audio tour is available in English, Spanish, German, Italian, Mandarin, French and Japanese Dutch," she explained sweetly, clearly interested in the fact that we spoke perfect English but were interested in another language.

"Italian please," said Bella as I stared at her as she took the headset happily and followed the other tourists heading into the cellblocks. "Don't look at me like that. I took classes on Italian before the trip to Europe. Can't hurt to see how much I remember." I laughed cheerfully at her as she slipped the headphones on waited her turn to step inside the cellblock.

We both seemed to listen to the headsets intently as we heard about the day to day life at the prison, some of the escape attempts and some of the more notorious inmates that had graced the prison in its 29 years as a federal penitentiary. I had to admit that even though it was all a little creepy, I found it very interesting. Bella laughed a few times and I had to wonder if she understood anything that she heard on her headphones. We ended up walking through the gardens for a little bit before I could tell Bella was getting exhausted and we hopped on the next boat heading back to the mainland.

"I'm going to order us some room service and you are taking it easy tonight," I stated firmly when we finally got back into our hotel suite and Bella dropped herself and our souvenir bags from the museum on the couch. I grabbed the menu and sat down beside Bella, making her turn on the couch so I could rub her feet while we both scanned the menu for something suitable.

"I just want the tuna melt on sourdough and a sweetened iced tea," said Bella through clenched teeth. "I only hope that peanut doesn't have any aversion to it. I really want it." I laughed and picked up the phone to place our order, with me getting the Dungeness crab chowder that was listed as a specialty. We waited only forty minutes for our order to arrive, with me rubbing Bella's feet almost the entire time. She didn't want to admit it, but the day of walking and touring had certainly taken its toll on her.

We ate in relative silence while watching a marathon of 'How I Met Your Mother' which was actually pretty hilarious. Of course Bella seemed to get her second wind once she had finished eating, probably because of all my attempts to relax her. She finally ended up replying to Rosalie's email from yesterday before she disappeared into the bathroom for a little while and when she came out, she was completely naked.

"I thought we were going to bed," I asked in surprise as I swallowed deeply and really hoped she wasn't sleeping like that.

"We are going to bed."

"To sleep?" I questioned again she merely shook her head from side to side and sauntered over to me, gripping my hand tightly and pulling me up off the couch. "Is this what they mean when they say pregnant women get horny as hell?"

"I guess so. I mean, I've always been unable to keep my hands to myself where you are concerned Mr. Cullen, but I won't complain if we do it constantly during the pregnancy," she laughed as she pushed me onto the bed and began tugging at my belt. She pulled it free in one quick movement before unbuttoning my shorts, pulling them down my legs and off of me completely. I didn't have a chance to ask a follow up question before she was on her knees before me, my cock now buried in her hot mouth.

"Holy fuck," I groaned as I felt her hands immediately on my balls while her mouth eagerly bounced up and down on my hard dick. It was sheer heaven, but I immediately felt remorseful for having my pregnant fiancée giving me a blow job. "Bella, stop," I stuttered in frustration, but there was no response. Instead she seemed to speed up her motions on me, her free hand now stroking me gently on the base of my cock that her mouth couldn't encompass.

With a few more forceful sucks and a scraping of her teeth along my length, I was suddenly coming deep down her throat and even though it felt awesome, I felt like shit for it. I tried to pull her up from her knees but she was suddenly yanking my shirt off and climbing onto my lap, her wet folds now pushing down against my cock. "Did you really want me to stop Edward?" she whispered seductively into my ear as I shook my head.

"No… I just… I felt bad that you were doing that," I replied nervously as Bella suddenly pulled back from me and looked at me with a complete look of shock.

"Why the fuck would you feel bad Edward? I've been sucking you off for four years and suddenly you get worried?" she asked with a raised eye brow as I felt even worse than before. I was coming off like a complete idiot.

"I just felt bad that my pregnant fiancée was servicing me," I admitted as she broke out into loud laughter that reverberated through our entire room. "Well you don't need to laugh at me."

"Yes I do. You think it's okay if we fuck or if you go down on me, but god forbid I had your dick in my mouth. That's funny as hell. Stop thinking and just enjoy everything, okay?" she questioned as I nodded my head, feeling completely embarrassed with myself.

I didn't have a lot of time to consider anything else because I felt Bella's hands grab mine and rest them on her breasts while she set to work attempting to suck the skin off of my neck, which felt heavenly. I massaged her breasts gently, pinching nipples slightly before finally leaning forward and taking one into my mouth as my cock began recovering and was suddenly hard against Bella's pussy. I wrapped my arm firmly around her and repositioned us so that I was hovering over her naked form in the center of our bed.

I was about to push Bella's legs open, but then as though she was reading my mind, she suddenly parted them for me, leaving her wetness open for me and I was so tempted to tongue fuck her into oblivion, but my cock was desperate to be inside of her. I decided on the latter and simply gripped her hips and thrust into her, both of us moaning in ecstasy from the contact.

For the next ten minutes I relived my embarrassment by fucking her as hard as I could and loving every second of it. Bella's groans and shrieks completely encouraged me even more than was necessary and when we finally came down from our orgasmic high; both of us were smiling brighter than we had in days.

After we had finally recovered, we got comfortable under the covers of the bed and wrapped our bodies around each other. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow? Our reservation is only good until Saturday, so tomorrow is our last day," she said sweetly to me as I breathed in her scent greedily and kissed her forehead.

"Well, I already arranged something with Philip when you were showering this morning. There's also a music shop over in Haight I want to get to and there's another museum over there that Philip also recommended. How about you let me lead us tomorrow," I suggested casually as I felt Bella nod her head before resting it on my chest. I felt one of my hands ghost down towards her stomach and rest there and immediately felt soothed before falling into a dreamless sleep.


	15. San Francisco, CA to Monterey, CA

**A/N: okay, back from the wilderness for another week, so here's a new chapter. I was hoping to publish it sooner, but there's a new 8 week old yorkie poo puppy in our house that is messing with my plans completely. I should have a Cabin Fever update soon as well, the chapter is half written I promise.**

**Anywhoo, I need to have a HUGE shoutout here to my gal lovebuggkiss who created a banner for this story. The link is on profile and it is fucking EPIC. It certainly made my morning after being up to 2:30am with the damned puppy. Flightlessbird11 is also working on banners for some of my other stories, so keep an eye out on my profile page. They are both totes fuckawesome! **

**Thanks to all the lovely readers and seeing as Cabin Fever is almost over, AB updates will be more frequent I hope. LOL**

**I don't own twilight and I also don't own the yorkie poo named mickey, but it certainly feels that way.**

**BPOV**

The next morning when I finally awoke, Edward was already wide awake, sitting on the couch using the laptop and sipping on a steaming cup of coffee. I was clearly envious. "Morning sleepy," he called out to me as he motioned with his hand to the array of pastries and muffins he had obviously requested from room service. There was also milk and orange juice, as well as the huge carafe of coffee that called my name, which I was forced to ignore. "There's a raspberry danish with your name on it."

"You are a man after my heart Edward Cullen," I declared happily as I crawled out of bed and towards the coffee table that held the treats.

"I thought I already had it a very long time ago Isabella Soon to be Cullen," he replied with a smirk as I bit into the danish and moaned in appreciation. It was sheer heaven in a pastry.

"Well that is true my love," I answered as I sat on the couch beside him and looked at the laptop to see what he was up to. "So, we're going to a music store?"

"Yup. It's called Amoeba Music and it's over on Haight St. I've heard about it for a while and I am pretty eager to go. The Jayhawks had a new release recently so I think I want to pick that up while I'm there," he explained simply as I curled up against his side and continued munching on my danish as he knowingly handed me a glass of milk. "When you are done, why don't you go shower and we can get on the road." I nodded my head as I grabbed another danish and polished it off before heading into the bathroom.

Within an hour, I was fully dressed in some casual summer shorts and a dark blue tank top. "You look great," said Edward simply as I grabbed my purse and I let him lead me out of our hotel room and down to the main lobby. We caught a cab over to the record store and the moment we walked in, I felt like Edward was going to drop to his knees and pray to the altar that is Amoeba Music.

"Are you going to be alright?" asked one of the employees who caught Edward's face glaze over and his body freeze the moment we walked in.

"He'll be fine. He's a newbie," I said with a laugh as I grabbed him by the arm and asked the employee to direct us to the new releases. I had to admit, the store was massive. In fact, massive probably wasn't a sufficient enough term to describe the size of the place. Edward and I spent the next two hours exploring the store and all it had to offer, with him walking out with over two hundred dollars in purchases, which didn't really surprise me. Thankfully we had arrived at ten when they opened, so we still had more than half of the day left to explore the city.

As we walked down the street, we stumbled upon a small baby store that had the cutest looking clothes, so of course I had to drag Edward in, but he was more than willing. I wandered aimlessly through the racks, not really sure of what to look for, but looking nonetheless. "Ooh, look at this onesie, it says 'That's What She Said', we so need to buy this," exclaimed Edward happily as I simply nodded my head, knowing full well he would buy it whether I liked it or not.

"Is there something I can help you with sir?" I overheard the rather busty looking blonde saleswoman ask Edward sweetly. I perked up my ears, but didn't move to join him, a little curious as to how he would respond.

"I'm actually just looking around with my pregnant fiancée, but thank you for the offer of assistance," he said a little too politely as I laughed and continued to check out some layette items they had towards the back of the store. The saleswoman walked away from him looking somewhat dejected and I couldn't help but smile, even though my head was saying 'That's right, back off bitch.'

When Edward found me a few minutes later, he had two more onesies with him. One said 'Follow Me on Twitter' and the other said 'Daddy Rocks'. Of course, I couldn't deny him either. I picked up a baby name book and a few white blankets that were just so incredibly soft that peanut would be lucky if I gave them up when he or she was born. When we walked out, I couldn't help but notice Edward's wide smile because he had officially purchased stuff for our son or daughter that wasn't a book or music. I think it made everything a little more real for him, even though I didn't think he needed the proof.

We ended up walking towards Golden Gate Park, but stopped to grab some sandwiches on the way which we ate while sitting casually on the grass and discussing how great the past few days in San Francisco had been. This was more what I had in mind when I wanted to travel across the country, more like Europe with less trains. The entire park reminded me of the one Edward and I had visited in Madrid during our first European vacation and I found myself slightly wistful at the memory.

After lunch, Edward gave me a small foot rub before dragging me off to our next sight for the day, the de young Museum, which was conveniently located in the park. We walked in and Edward seemed excited for the Tutankhamen exhibit they had on and quickly paid for our tickets and grabbed us each a headset to listen to all the details on the exhibit. We hit the exhibit first before the permanent collection and I had to admit, everything was a little overwhelming.

Most of the exhibit was made up of items that had been buried with Tutankhamen tomb in the Valley of the Kings and everything was so ornate and exquisite. I think even Edward was a little surprised by everything, but he never said a single thing the entire time we were in the exhibit. He simply listened along with the audio tour and paid attention. He had certainly matured in the past four years.

Once we had thoroughly gone through the exhibit, I took Edward to see some of the permanent collection that the de young housed. I didn't think we would end up seeing everything the gallery offered, but something was better than nothing in my opinion. We started in their American painters' gallery checking out works by John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer and several other revered painters. We also managed to get through their 'Art of the America's' exhibit which featured works from North and South America before my stomach started to growl and Edward looked at his iPhone which read five thirty.

"Let's go grab some dinner. There's one more place I want to visit before we head back to the hotel and leave San Francisco," said Edward sweetly as he gripped my hand and reluctantly dragged me from the museum. We ended up a small Italian restaurant where I enjoyed a large bowl of Italian Wedding Soup and some Manicotti. Edward got lasagna, which didn't surprise me, but he also ordered a glass of wine which sort of frustrated me. I watched with envy as he took a sip of the merlot and he noticed my gaze.

"What's wrong?" he asked genuinely as I shook my head and claimed everything was fine. "If everything was fine you wouldn't be looking at me like I should be shot."

"Okay, here's a question for you then. If you could right now, would you eat sushi?" I asked vaguely.

"No, but why the hell would you ask me about eating sushi? Do you want sushi? Should we have gone somewhere else?" he asked in confusion as I shook my head again.

"No, I don't want sushi Edward. In fact, I can't east sushi since I'm pregnant. Just like I can't eat certain cheeses, coffee or wine." I accentuated the word 'wine' and hoped he would get the hint, but he was quiet for a few moments before he finally spoke.

"Are you mad cause I can drink you can't? I had coffee this morning and you didn't get mad then," he said simply as I sat back in my chair and tried to think of how to phrase what I wanted to say to him.

"I don't want you to have to give up what I have to, but I would like you to not flaunt it. I'm not saying you were rubbing it in that you could drink wine and I couldn't, but with the stuff you know I can't have, could you ask if I would mind first?" I asked simply as I rubbed my hand on my forehead. I sounded like a complete childish bitch, but I desperately wanted to drink his wine and I couldn't. It was practically begging me to drink it and I just wanted it to disappear.

Our waiter showed up a few moments later and Edward, sensing my conflict, asked him to take away the wine and return with a cup of water. "You didn't have to do that," I explained to him, concerned I had completely over stepped my boundaries in asking him to get my permission for certain things.

"I wanted to do it. It was clearly making you uncomfortable; in fact if I didn't know any better I would think you were salivating for a sip. Why tempt fate right? It's gone and we're both happier, alright?" Edward said genuinely as I nodded my head reluctantly, still frustrated with myself for even asking him to not drink with dinner.

Once dinner was completed, we took a drive towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Edward paid the cab driver a hundred bucks to sit and wait for us at Baker Beach as we walked north towards the bridge as the sun was setting around us. "This is so damned romantic," I said to Edward as we sat on the beach for a moment and simply looked out over the Pacific.

"I should have proposed to you here," said Edward solemnly as I curled myself up beside him and he wrapped his arm over my shoulder, holding me tight.

"No you shouldn't have. I loved how you proposed, I just fucked it up is all," I said with a laugh as I felt Edward's soft lips kissing my temple.

"You know, if there weren't so many people around, I would totally make love to you on this beach right now," he said fiercely as I looked in his eyes and saw the lust and desire that was building in me at the same time.

"I'm sure we can find a tiny secluded beach on our drive down the PCH where you can take me in the sand," I said with a laugh as he kissed my forehead. "But for right now, I think I would prefer if you took me back to our hotel room and fucked me into oblivion."

"Feeling a little horny are we Bella?" he asked with a smug grin as I ran my hand up and down his chest slowly. I could feel his heart beat practically forcing its way out of his chest and his breathing picked up slightly.

"Well, with all of your romantic declarations it's hard not to want you twenty four hours a day and seven days a week Edward," I replied as he suddenly pushed me back onto the beach and his lips latched onto my neck, sucking eagerly. "Back to the hotel room baby."

"Oh yeah… right," he muttered with a frown as he swooped me up in his arms and practically ran down the beach to get us back to our awaiting cab.

The next morning we hurried to get out of the hotel room and on the road to Monterey. I put the Eels' back on the stereo and cheerfully nodded my head and sang along to the music.

_Uh-huh  
God damn right it's a beautiful day Uh-huh  
God damn right it's a beautiful day Uh-huh  
Ooooh_

**EPOV**

The ride between San Francisco and Monterey was only two and a half hours long, made a bit longer thanks to the traffic getting out of the city, but it was not unbearable. What was insufferable though was having to listen to Bella's long conversation with Rosalie as they discussed the wedding. I know Rosalie is overwhelmed with everything seeing as she was getting married in five months, but she never once asked Bella how the trip was going or how Bella was feeling and it was getting on my nerves.

Of course, Bella didn't care. She felt bad that she had basically ignored Rose for the past two months and she was supposed to be the maid of honor, so she was trying to step up. I had a feeling I would be forced to endure many of these conversations in the next few weeks and the prospect of sitting through them first hand made me shiver slightly. I was still wondering how the hell I could convince Bella to simply marry me at a drive thru chapel in Las Vegas, thus eliminating everything Rosalie was going through. The minutes ticked by on the clock and it was almost eleven when Bella ended her call to Rose, and we were pulling off of the highway and into the town.

"Sorry about that," muttered Bella as she shoved her phone into the pocket of her shorts and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"No need to apologize, that's the kind of shit you do for friends' right? At least it's done now and we can focus on spending the day together." I said hopeful that there would be no more interruptions from Rosalie today, as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel Bella had reserved two days earlier.

The Clement Monterey was a decent hotel, but a little less fancy than what we had experienced in San Francisco. I wasn't planning on complaining though since the bed in our suite was huge and I had visions of ravishing Bella over and over in it for the next two days. Of course, Bella had other plans in mind the moment the bellhop left our bags in our room and she looked out the window at the ocean.

"You know what I want to do?" she said succinctly as I wracked my brain for some mention of what she wanted to do in Monterey.

"Sex on the beach?" I said with a wink as I heard Bella groan loudly. "Something to do with Sea Otters?" I asked nervously as she nodded her head and I watched intently as she grabbed a one piece bathing suit from her luggage and threw my swim trunks at me.

"We're going kayaking remember?" she said cheerfully as I nodded my head, finally recalling the plans she had made. "We have an appointment at one for a private lesson and apparently we'll be able to see Sea Otters all over the harbor. They say the winds are supposed to be non-existent today which should make it easy for us to learn."

"Sounds great Bella," I said as I tossed some more clothes on after my swim trunks were on and she grabbed a bag and started filling it with things like sun block, her wallet, our hotel keys, towels and the like. Within an hour we had eaten lunch and were on our way to check in for our appointment time with the Kayak company. They gave us some wetsuits to put on and showed us a quick video before finally helping us into the kayaks and out onto the water.

"This is a million times better than I thought it would be," gushed Bella as she worked her paddle through the calm waters and kept glancing over to the breakwater jetty where dozens of sea lions had taken up residence and seemed to be watching her intently. We had been out on the water for almost an hour and we were both feeling confident about our kayaking abilities. Well, more confident than we had earlier in the morning when we didn't know how to kayak at all.

"If we head more towards Cannery Row, you can see sea otters," exclaimed Tim our guide, who pointed towards the area we needed to head to. Bella was beyond excited and moved her little paddle at top speed to get closer to them. I wasn't in as much of a hurry as Bella to see them, but the closer we got, the cuter they seemed. "Don't stick your arms or hands out, otters like to bite," explained Tim as we got closer and Bella took a couple of pictures with her waterproof camera that she had wrapped around her neck on a lanyard.

"They look so cute though, like I could just pull one onto the kayak, take him home and keep him in my bathtub," laughed Bella as I paddled closer to her and her smile was as bright as the California sun.

"Honey, we're going to have a baby soon, you don't need a sea otter," I said with a laugh as she giggled at me but shrugged her shoulders.

"The peanut could have a playmate," she said with a smile as I threw my head back and laughed along with Tim.

"Or the otter could bite your baby's head off," laughed Tim as I heard Bella groan at the image.

We finished our kayak tour just before five and went back to the hotel to try to enjoy dinner in the C Restaurant in the hotel. I had wanted to go to their more romantic restaurant, but we were both tired and there was always the next night. So we sat on the patio overlooking the ocean and Bella gushed about the kayak trip and some of the things she wanted to do the next day, which included a stop at Cannery Row and the Aquarium.

When we finally got back to our room, we curled up in bed and watched TV as Bella started to flip through the baby name book she got at the baby store in San Francisco. "What about Aaron for a boy?" she asked curiously as she turned to me, her eye brow raised.

"Hmm… Aaron Cullen… not bad I suppose," I replied as Bella explained to me that the name is Hebrew and means 'mountain.' "Don't you think a name like 'mountain' would be more appropriate for one of Emmett's kids?" I asked with a laugh as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay then… what about Abraham?"

"Nope," I replied firmly. I didn't even care about the meaning or origin but there was no way I was having a baby named 'Abe Cullen.' It sounded too much like Grandpa Simpson in my opinion.

"How does Adam sound?" she asked again as I ran my fingers through my hair and flipped the channel but not really watching the TV.

"It sounds kind of plain. Why are you sticking to boys names Bella?" I questioned as she kissed my temple. "Do you know something I don't know?"

"Of course not Edward. We haven't even had the ultrasound yet, how would I know the baby's gender. Anyways, the book is sorted into two sections, boys and girls. It's also alphabetical, so don't worry… I'm just going through the book as it was written," she replied as I laughed genuinely at her and pulled the book from her hands, resting it on the nightstand beside her.

"We have like six more months to determine a baby name Bella, I'm sure there are better things we can do with our time," I said slyly as I pulled the blankets off our bodies and moved myself between Bella's legs, looking at her longingly.

"Oh really Edward. What could be more important?" she replied with a laugh as I tugged her pajama shorts and panties down in one quick movement. "You don't want to play a round of strip go fish first?" she asked with a chuckle as I grabbed the hem of her shirt and threw it off of her, revealing her bare breasts to me, which I quickly took into my hands and began massaging gently.

"No," I growled in response before I lowered my mouth to one of her nipples and began to suck furiously as my other hand played with her nipple.

"Be gentle baby, they're a wee bit sensitive these days," she muttered to me in response as I lessened my grip on her and Bella seemed to relax more under my touch. I slid my fingers gently down her sides and pulled her close to me, her body emanating heat as I kissed my way from her neck down to her stomach, kissing her gently on her belly before finally reaching the promise land of her wet folds. "See something you like?"

"Fuck yes," I groaned as I leaned forward and spread her thighs open to me and began licking her pussy eagerly, her moans spurring me on to work harder and faster on her. I thrust my tongue inside of her as I let my thumb rub her clit and I felt her buck her body beneath my motions. I hummed gently on her clit for a moment and heard her yelp in pleasure, which caused a smug smile on my face before I moved two fingers inside of her, curling them upwards, desperate to find her g-spot.

A few minutes later, I felt her shudder around my fingers and scream my name so loudly I was certain the front desk would be calling to ask us to shut the hell up. "You are wearing far too much clothes," laughed Bella as I sat back on my knees and she tried in vain to pull my boxer shorts down. I jumped off the bed and yanked my boxers down as I watched Bella's eyes, which grew hungry when she saw I was hard and ready for her.

I climbed back onto the bed and instead of letting me climb between her; she pushed me onto the mattress and was suddenly sheathed inside of me in an instant as she began to grind her hips against me, riding me as hard as she could. I gripped her hips firmly and helped move her up and down on my shaft, but I really couldn't take my eyes off her face, which was contorted in pleasure. Bella's eyes were closed tightly but her smile was as wide as her entire face as I bucked my hips up and tried to fuck her deeper. "I love fucking you," I groaned out as I felt her fingers scrape down my chest, no doubt leaving red marks behind which I would display proudly if given the opportunity.

"Oh fuck yes," she replied breathlessly as I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her down to me before flipping us over so that she was on her back. I grasped her ankles firmly and put them on either side of my head, resting on my shoulders as I began plunging my cock into her as hard as I could while I grabbed Bella's hand and brought it down to her clit.

"Play with yourself. I want to see it," I instructed her as she nodded her head and began rubbing herself as I watched intently, my cock throbbing insanely from the heat of her depths and from watching her pleasure herself. "You are so fucking hot Bella," I added as she arched her back off the mattress and screamed out my name as she came for the second time that night. I thrust into her three more times before finally reaching my own release and letting her legs go from my shoulders. I collapsed beside her and quickly pulled her naked body against me.

"If anyone had told me at JFK four years ago that I would get to spend the rest of my life with you, I would have swore they were on crack," I said with a laugh as I kissed Bella's lips gently and wiped some of the sweat off of her brow with her t-shirt that I had left on the nightstand earlier.

"I still think you're a stalker Edward Cullen. I just like knowing that you are my own personal stalker for the rest of my life."

The next morning, Bella and I anxiously headed out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and checked out their exhibits on the giant octopus, seahorses, penguins and of course the ever popular sea otter. We watched them do a penguin feeding shortly after we arrived at the aquarium and we took our time working our way through the various exhibits. We ate lunch there and enjoyed some fresh made pizza before finally hitting the gift shop, where Bella bought a decent sized stuffed sea otter, which she claimed was for the peanut, but I knew would be with her for the next six months, just like the white blankets she bought in San Francisco.

After lunch, we headed down to Cannery Row and walked through the area while enjoying some ice cream and I was shocked that Bella didn't buy anything in any of the stores. She did however field a phone call from a frantic Rosalie who had apparently arranged for Bella to try on a maid of honor dress at a store in Los Angeles, which I wasn't looking forward to. I could only hope that Bella was a needy of Rosalie's time when she started to plan our own wedding.

We ended up having a nice romantic dinner at the Pacific View Courtyard restaurant at the hotel, where we sat out at one of their outdoor fire pits, just as the sun was setting over the ocean. It was stunning, but of course I was completely captivated by the woman beside me. "You're not saying much," sighed Bella as I took a bite of my salad and looked over at her with a smile.

"I'm just appreciating everything. It's nice to not be in a major hurry, ya know?" I said with a grin as she reached over and took my hand in hers.

"Well, we do have to get back to New York in three weeks and I wanted to make a stop in Denver to see Angela and Ben, so we are in a slight hurry," she replied as I smiled at her and kissed her hand. It wasn't as long as I hoped we had left, but I could handle three more weeks of traveling. Plus in three weeks we'd finally get to see the peanut and I couldn't wait.


	16. Monterey, CA to Las Vegas, NV

**A/N: Hello loyal readers! Now that Cabin Fever is over I am hoping to be able to update this story at least twice a week, but I am not setting a schedule just in case real life starts to kick me in the ass. **

**So… my birthday is in a few days and flightlessbird11 made me a little robsessed video that is on youtube. The link is on my homepage so go check it out and drool like I did, it's fucktacularly awesome!**

**Thanks as usual to my beta maggiemay14 for her help with this bastard and to nelln who helped with suggestions in LA. You rock sweetie!**

**I don't own twilight, but I do have my entire family coming over today. I am also going out with my beta tomorrow. Madness will ensue, I'm sure of it.**

**BPOV**

The next morning we woke up fairly early and decided to just pack up and get on the road to Los Angeles. We figured that at the longest the drive should take was only seven hours since we were taking the more scenic route along the Pacific Coast Highway. We stopped at a small grocery store before getting onto the highway and grabbed a bunch of fruit, juice and water for the road seeing as neither of us was overly hungry for a full breakfast, even though Edward chastised me slightly because I was eating for two. Whoever coined that phrase was clearly never a self conscious pregnant woman.

When we arrived in Los Angeles just after two in the afternoon, we quickly checked into our hotel room in Long Beach at the Queen Mary, which was a huge ocean liner now docked and used as a hotel and for haunted tours and such. The stateroom was nothing overly exciting, with a king bed, some night stands and a desk but I was thrilled to be staying there. I even signed Edward and me up for a haunted tour before dinner.

As I checked out all the amenities in our room and searched through the information guides left by the hotel, Edward made a call to his friend Riley who moved to Los Angeles after graduating from NYU. Riley was living in town composing music for movies and had apparently been excited when Edward told him we would be driving through town and we easily agreed to go out to dinner with him. After we shared a quick nap, we ended up meeting Riley in the lobby of our hotel and he drove us out to a restaurant a few miles down on the waterfront that was quieter than anything we would have found in the heart of the city.

"You're looking good man," commented Riley to Edward as we sat down at the table the hostess had seated us at. I couldn't help but smile at the view of the ocean as Edward pulled out my chair for me and took his seat right beside me.

"What can I say, graduation clearly agrees with me," laughed Edward as he squeezed my hand under the table. I had met Riley on several occasions during college, but we never had a long sit down dinner like I knew we were up for tonight. Before we left out hotel Edward forewarned me that he hadn't told Riley about the baby or the engagement, but planned to tell him tonight. Riley was certainly in for a surprise.

"So, why the road trip?" he inquired curiously as he thumbed the menu and looked between Edward and I.

"Why not? Neither of us starts work till September and we had always wanted to do it. Are you pissed we stopped in for a visit?" laughed Edward as Riley joined along with him. The waitress arrived and took our drink order; Riley got a Bloody Mary while Edward and I both opted for iced tea, which piqued Riley's interest immediately seeing as Edward wasn't one to usually turn down alcohol of any sort.

"I'm not pissed. It's a nice surprise actually. I had visions of not seeing you again until our ten year reunion and I'd be on my third wife, while you were still stuck with this ball and chain," joked Riley as I punched him in the arm and he continued to laugh at me.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll be stuck together in ten years man," laughed Edward as he grabbed my left hand and brought it from his knee to above the table. "Since we're getting married and all…" Riley grabbed my hand and looked in awe at the ring before shooting glances between Edward and I and then smiling brightly.

"Well fuck man, congrats and all that shit. This calls for a celebration," he yelled out as he raised his arm and called the waitress back over and requested a bottle of champagne, which Edward quickly rejected. "You're not drinking? I didn't think I would ever see the day Edward Cullen turned down a drink."

Edward smiled at me sweetly and then kissed my forehead before turning back to Riley. Edward was about to open his mouth when Riley did instead. "She's pregnant huh? That's why neither of you are drinking. She got knocked up and roped you into marriage… Jesus Christ, I thought you were smarter than that Edward."

"Shut up Riley," I said as I stood up angrily and was about to confront him. Unfortunately for him, Edward got there first and punched him in the jaw. _Well, dinner was lovely, nice to see you too Riley._ Our waitress showed back up a second later and advised us to leave if we couldn't be respectful, so Edward and Riley both sat down and looked at each other with both fury and remorse.

"I am not you Riley and for the record I was planning to propose before Bella found out she was pregnant," sighed Edward as Riley rubbed the back of his neck and looked down towards the table, most likely feeling like an asshole for opening his mouth in the first place.

"Have I ever seemed like the kinda of girl who ropes a guy into marriage?" I asked Riley, the anger dripping from my words I clutched the edge of the table in frustration. I felt Edward's hand against my back trying to calm me, but it wasn't doing a lot of good at this point. "I was always nice to you, even when you brought all sorts of drunken whores to our apartment at god knows what time of night and tried to get Edward to go clubbing with you, so don't sit here and accuse me of being one of your lying skanks."

"No one seems like that kind of girl until that happens, Bella," Riley replied bitterly as he then launched into a long diatribe about his own issues. "Do you remember Sasha from back in New York? I dated her for like a year and I think we all went out a few times." I nodded my head as I moved my hand to rest of Edward's thigh. "I didn't think she was that kind of girl either until she told me she was pregnant and practically begged me to get married. It turns out it wasn't even mine and she had been cheating on me the entire time we dated, so I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

Edward looked at his friend with only a bit of remorse, clearly having heard this story before. "Sorry for punching you, but you were completely out of line. You know my feelings for Bella and even though the pregnancy was a surprise, it's a welcome one," explained Edward as he took my hand again and kissed the back of it tenderly.

"I'm sorry, especially to you Bella. It's just a huge surprise to me. So, congratulations on the baby too. When are you due? Do you know what you are having yet?" asked Riley, suddenly interested in everything about the baby and trying not to act upset about the situation. The waitress arrived and we gave our orders before conversation turned back to the peanut.

"We're due at the end of January and we have no idea what we are having. Our ultrasound appointment is in early August back in New York, so we've got to get back there in time for all that. It's why we are only in L.A. for two nights," I explained to him as Riley asked more questions about everything. Edward assured him he would be invited to the wedding, whenever the hell we had it and then we talked more about the trip.

The atmosphere at the table was pretty tense, especially between Edward and Riley, who tried to break the tension by giving us some suggestions of places to go in the city, including the Getty Museum which was high on my list of things to do. It was probably the only reason we were staying another day seeing as neither Edward or I was overly excited about L.A. I wanted to get on the road onto Denver where we would be staying with Angela and Ben for two days. I hadn't seen her in so long and I was dying to share our exciting news.

When we got back to the hotel that night, things were on the road to Riley being forgiven. Edward gave me a little more detail on what had happened between Riley and Sasha during their 3rd year at NYU and how she tried to strong arm him into getting married. At least I could somehow sympathize with Riley's situation, not that it made me like him any more for the way that he had reacted tonight.

"Time to get up sleepyhead," whispered Edward as I felt his lips firm against my neck, his entire body wrapped around mine and his hard on clear as day against my leg. I groaned and rolled over slightly, curling my body into his, my lips now against his chest. I began kissing him gently and then tugged at his boxers, pulling them down his thighs until my tiny feet finished the job and yanked them off. "Horny are we?"

"Unbelievably," I muttered quietly in response as Edward's fingers moved deftly down my sides to my panties, which he pulled off and dropped on the floor beside the bed. We lay covered in the blankets, simply reveling in touching and feeling every inch of skin that we could before I couldn't handle it anymore and found myself slipping under the covers and taking his hard cock in my mouth.

"Oh fuck," he groaned out as I held the base of his dick firmly in my hands and sucked every inch of him that I was able to fit in my mouth. I moved my tongue up and down his shaft, the bed covers moving with me as I was licking tenderly at first and then a little more vigorously as I noticed Edward's hand gripping the sheet. I was suddenly bombarded by light in our stateroom as he pulled back the covers. "I have to watch you suck me off Bella. You are so fucking beautiful," he said before he threw his head back against the pillow as my hand now cupped his balls and massaged them gently.

"As much as you enjoy me sucking on you," I said with a wide grin as I leaned back down and licked just the tip of his cock. "I think you'd enjoy this much more," I added as I moved up on the bed, straddling him and slipping his cock inside my dripping wet pussy.

"Fuck yes," he yelled out loudly as I ground my hips back and forth on him for a moment, building up momentum before his hands gripped my hips and he began pushing me up and down on his cock. "I love when you ride me Bella."

I muttered a few curse words in appreciation of his superior fucking skills as he grabbed the hem of my tank top and tossed it off of me, giving him easy access to my tender breasts, which he kissed gently before sucking a nipple into his mouth. "Shit."

"Are you okay?" he asked when he stopped for a moment, concerned with my response.

"More than okay. Don't even fucking think about stopping," I instructed him as he nodded his head and continued. I was forcing myself up and down on his hardness as I felt his hips thrust into me, our bodies knocking together in passion as he suddenly began flicking my clit with his finger, causing me to hiss loudly. "I'm so… oh god, I'm so close Edward," I managed to force out as I came moments later, covering his cock in my juices.

"So fucking sexy," he growled as he held my hips firmly and thrust himself into me a few more times before finally reaching his own release. Edward dropped his hands to the bed and panted lowly for a moment while trying to compose himself. I leaned forward and he pulled me down onto the bed beside him, wrapping me into his arms as he kissed my lips fiercely. "I would like to thank the fates for putting us together because I am so excited to be able to make love to you for the rest of my life."

"Do you think you'll be able to get it up at eighty?" I asked with a laugh as he kissed me again, softer this time, his tongue sweeping against my bottom lip.

"Hell yes. They have drugs for old perverts like I plan to be." We snuggled for a little bit longer before the breakfast we had ordered the night before was finally delivered. Edward hopped out of bed and tossed on his boxers before answering the door and grabbing the room service tray. We sat in bed and ate our French toast completely naked before Edward proceeded to get a little inventive with the maple syrup, which ended with us in the shower together.

We finally strolled from the hotel around ten and got in the Yukon to head on over to the Getty Museum. We paid our fifteen dollar parking charge and headed into the museum, where I was excited to see some of the Landscapes and Portraits they were well known for. Edward of course grabbed a headset to listen along to and I led the way, heading first into the section of Egyptian art before finding our way to the landscapes done by Monet, Sisley and others.

"Should I have gotten a headset for the baby?" asked Edward as I looked at him with complete surprise. "What? I bet the peanut will like Art just as much as you do Bella."

"What if the baby prefers music?" I asked with a laugh as he shrugged his shoulders at me. "Anyways, according to the baby book I've been reading it babies develop their ears around eight weeks, but since peanut is so tiny I doubt he can hear anything yet anyways. Why don't we wait till I'm showing before you try to strap some headphones across my belly okay?"

"You take all the fun out of this Bella," laughed Edward as I smacked him upside the head.

"Anyways, those are ear buds… where are you going to put them, in my belly button?" I asked as started laughing heavily and Edward just kissed my forehead and followed me into the next exhibit.

We ended up eating a quick lunch at the café inside the Getty before deciding that since we were on the north side of the city, to head on over to Santa Monica Pier. We got stuck in some massive traffic for two in the afternoon as we headed down the 405 freeway, but luckily we got to the pier in only half an hour, after finding somewhat decent parking nearby.

"Oooh… a carousel. We are so going there first."

**EPOV**

Even as we headed down the boardwalk of the pier towards the Carousel, I was still pretty upset about what Riley had said the night before. His over reaction was just the kind of thing I had hoped to avoid when we told him, but I should have forewarned Bella before we went out. I told her that he didn't know about the engagement or the baby, I should have told her about his past. I was reflecting on all of that as I felt Bella's hand grip my firmly, pulling me closer to the Carousel.

"It's so fricking pretty," said Bella simply as a few kids rushed by us to get in line for a ride. I helped Bella get onto one of the horses and then climbed onto the one right beside her, feeling slightly childish because everyone around us was under the age of ten, with the exception of one mother holding her daughter up onto a small pony. "I can't wait till I get to do that with our daughter."

"Oh, so you think the peanut is a girl huh?" I said with a snort as she smacked my shoulder before gripping onto the pole in front of her. "You grip that like you have experience with hard poles."

"Edward, watch your mouth, this place is surrounded by children," she chastised as I smiled at her brightly. I knew that she wanted to reply to my sexual innuendo, but clearly kept her comments to herself since we were in the presence of minors. Hell, I hoped her thoughts weren't even suitable for adults. Thankfully, my dirty thoughts were drowned out by the music and I reached over and grasped Bella's hand firmly in mine as we relaxed on the ride, enjoying the movements and simply being together.

Once we got off the ride, we headed over to the small amusement park that was on the pier and hopped onto the ferris wheel first. "I'm not sure what other rides I can actually go on, being pregnant and all," said Bella casually as the wheel started and we were slowly lifted into the air. We were both silent until the ride was over because the views were simply spectacular, both of the ocean and the city behind us. When we got off, I took a look at all the other rides and wasn't sure myself.

"Well, I think the bumper cars are out and so is the roller coaster. Why don't we take it easy and go play a rousing game of Wac-A-Mole?" Bella smiled cheerfully and wrapped her arm in mine as I led her towards the games that were all around us. Thirty bucks later, I had nothing to show for the Water Race, Break a Plate, Ring Toss or Wac-A-Mole that we had played. I was tempted to simply buy Bella some sort of prize, until she handily won a big stuffed dolphin while playing 'Fishy Fishy.'

"Don't look at me in shock Edward Cullen. I grew up with Charlie, fishing is in my blood," she said cheerfully as she grabbed the dolphin from the teenager running the booth and we headed back down the boardwalk to take a look out over the ocean. I held Bella close to me, my hand on her heart and her stomach as we watched some boats in the distance and some of the kids playing down on the beach. It was perfect until my cell phone buzzed in my pocket signaling that I had a text message.

_Owe you an apology. Head to Hollywood Bowl at six and ask for Cindy – Riley_

"It looks like we have somewhere to be tonight," I said to Bella, a little confused by the text, but intrigued nonetheless. "Riley has something set up for us over at the Hollywood Bowl."

"Should I be scared?" Bella asked with a laugh as I intertwined our fingers and I led her back towards the parking lot where our SUV awaited us.

"With Riley, you should always be scared sweetheart."

We hopped onto the 405 and drove our way around the city until we got to the Hollywood Bowl. The parking lot was already filling up and when we got the gates, I asked for Cindy, just like Riley had told me to. "She'll be right with you." I was informed as Bella and I moved to the side and waiting patiently while other patrons moved on in. Everyone looked to be about our age and seemed excited about whatever the hell was going on. I was about to go and ask at the gate when a short blonde walked over to us, smiling brightly.

"You must be Edward and Bella. Come with me," she said as she walked through the gate and led us up to some box seats where a blanket and picnic basket awaited us on a small table. "Riley setup this dinner for you, I guess he screwed up pretty bad huh?"

"Nothing that was unforgiveable, although this certainly makes it easier," said Bella as I helped her sit down and Cindy proceeded to inform us that dinner was actually catered by one of the restaurants at the bowl. She wished us a great evening and assured us that since we were in box seats, people would be around to make sure all of our needs were met. When she left, Bella and I looked at each other a bit incredulously.

"I guess he's out of the dog house huh?" I said with a laugh as Bella nodded her head.

We were halfway through our meal when the music began and Bella and I happily smiled along to the New Pornographers and then Tegan and Sara before Death Cab For Cutie took the stage, playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. "Holy shit," muttered Bella happily as I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped the blanket around her, my hand finding purchasing on her stomach as I listened to her sing along quietly to the first song of the night.

We were both speechless for most of the performance as we listened to some of our favorite songs like 'I Will Posses Your Heart' and 'The New Year'. I completely lost focus when the lead singer played 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' acoustically, with some back up from the orchestra. I found myself nuzzling into Bella's neck, kissing and sucking her gently as her hands worked down my arms sensually. By the end of the show, I found myself wishing our hotel wasn't so far away because I desperately wanted to be inside of her.

"Remind me to thank Riley for all of this later," Bella said with a smile as we headed back out to the car to fight our way through the L.A. traffic. It took us over an hour to get back to the hotel and by the time we pulled up in front of the boat, Bella was fast asleep in the passenger seat. I got us back into the room and gently tugged her clothes off, leaving her in her bra and panties. I quickly undressed, climbed in beside her, sweeping her into my arms for the best sleep I've had since we started the trip.

We had an unwelcome phone call first thing in the next morning as Rosalie graced us with a call at six in the morning wanting to discuss whether Bella had gone to some bridal salon in Beverly Hills to check out the maid of honor gown she had picked out. Unfortunately, this was something we totally forgot so Rosalie told us to get in there before we left the city. We ordered breakfast from room service and took our time getting ready since the salon didn't open till ten, but when we finally got there, I felt completely out of my element.

"I promise to make this as quick as possible so we can get on the road, okay?" said Bella as I nodded my head and one of the sales women showed me to a couch outside a change room. Apparently Rosalie had already called ahead and let them know exactly what she wanted, so everything was ready for us when we got there.

"How far along will you be in December?" asked the woman helping Bella as I sat there looking at her my face ripe with confusion. Why the hell would they care about this now? "We have some padding that will help with fitting the dress, but it's based on how far along you will be. When are you due?"

"We're due at the end of January," Bella said sweetly as the woman grabbed a pregnancy pad and told Bella to wrap it around her midsection, secure the straps and then put the dress on. When Bella walked out of the changing room a few minutes later in a stunning dark red floor length gown that had small straps on the shoulder, I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"I know… it's a little much," she said with a groan as she turned towards the mirror and I was speechless. We were so early on in the pregnancy that I hadn't even though twice about her with a pregnant belly, but now that she had the pad on I thought I would start crying. "It's not that bad is it?" she asked as she did another turn in front of the mirror and I stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her in my arms so that she was facing the mirror and her back was to my chest.

I leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the neck as my hands moved down to her stomach. "I think I'm in shock."

"Good or bad?" she whispered as I kissed her neck again, this time a little more forcefully.

"Definitely good. I can't believe that in like five months you'll be this pregnant," I said stoically as I moved my hands up and down against her faux stomach, wrinkling the dress slightly. "I am so looking forward to when peanut gets this big in your stomach. He'll probably be kicking up a storm by then." Bella simply nodded her head as I kissed her temple and we were interrupted by the saleswoman again, who seemed to think Bella would need the top let out a bit to allow for bigger breasts, seeing as hers were already spilling out of the top slightly, not that I minded in the least.

Bella and the saleswoman discussed her sending the dress to their sister shop in New York for the final fittings and then she paid in full as I texted Rosalie to let her know the dress was ordered. It was the least I could do before I turned off the phone, shut the world out and escorted Bella out to the car to head on our way towards Vegas.

We were in Barstow before we stopped for lunch and checked out a few of the outlet malls that were nearby, but there was nothing of major interest so we kept on driving down the I-15 to Vegas. Bella had reserved us a room online at the Venetian and I was beyond excited to get there, primarily cause I really wanted to get my hands on her. Bella fell asleep once we reached Baker and I quickly stopped for gas and caught a glimpse of the world's largest thermometer before getting back on the road.

I woke Bella up as we drove down Interstate 15 and into the city, not wanting her to miss the skyline or the hotels as we drove down Las Vegas Boulevard. As she rubbed her eyes and I saw a big billboard advertising weddings at the Wynn, I couldn't help myself. "So, what do you think about getting married while we're here?"

**A/N: What do you think of Bella and Edward getting married in Vegas? **

**Oh… and I know there are a ton of DCFC fans out there, well they really did perform at the Hollywood Bowl in early July with the New Pornographers and Tegan and Sara. I'm crazy obsessed with realism this way. Anywhoo, if you get on youtube and look up Death Cab For Cutie with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, you can see some of the songs they performed that night, including 'I will follow you into the dark.' They were awesome!**


	17. Las Vegas, NV

**A/N: Thanks so much for the support with the last chapter gang! I have some of the best fricking readers in FF, I swear. Don't forget that American Girl is nominated for a Cullenizer Award, the link is on my profile.**

**I'll be away for a few days and should be updating on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, so don't freak out at me. You have been prewarned and considering the chapters that have come out for both stories lately, I need a vaca!**

**Thanks as usual to the luscious MaggieMay14 and the stunningly awkward flightlessbird11, with whom I will be collaborating on am upcoming story, so go make sure you have her on author alert cause we will probably post under her name. More details to come when available.**

**I don't own twilight, but I do own a creepy Ariel doll from the Little Mermaid.**

**BPOV**

What the hell did he just say?

I couldn't manage a single cohesive thought until we checked in and got into our hotel room and even then thoughts ran rampant through my head but nothing came out of my mouth. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Are you alright Bella?" asked Edward as he tipped the bellman that brought our luggage up from the lobby. I just nodded my head and did a quick tour around the room to check out the size of the tub and whether I could jump out the window and run to safety without killing me or the baby. No chance of that happening since we were on the 15th floor. "Okay, I know you are probably plotting escape routes, but I was just being funny Honey. I don't actually intend for us to get married in Vegas. I mean… how fucking cliché is that? Plus, I think your mother would castrate me if we did." Ahh, so there was an upside to marrying in Vegas.

"Um… since its five thirty did you want to start looking around the strip and maybe find somewhere to eat?" I asked, completely changing the topic. Edward quietly nodded his head and we both changed into our comfy walking shoes before going back down to the lobby and stepping outside the hotel. It was hot as hell, even so late in the day, but thank god there was no humidity otherwise I was certain I would be melting onto the sidewalk.

"Okay, where do you want to go?" asked Edward as we looked across the street where T.I and the Mirage stood. To the north of us were the Palazzo and the Wynn and to the south was Harrah's. "I was thinking we could make our way over to Caesers Palace. I hear they have some good restaurants in there."

"Sounds good," I stated as I entwined my fingers in his and we walked in peace down the busy streets. We were bombarded by people handing us flyers and cards for strippers and escorts, which made us both laugh as we unfortunately got a few of them, which we promptly threw in the first garbage can we could find. We wandered around the Forum Shops at Ceasers for a while and finally settled in for dinner just after seven thirty at the Cheesecake Factory.

After we enjoyed our dinner, Edward and I wandered into the FAO Schwartz that was right next to the restaurant and searched through their thousands of stuffed animals on the main floor. They even had a large version of 'Fluffy' the three headed dog from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

"We should get one of each for the nursery," Edward said as he motioned his hand around the showroom at all the animals. Thankfully I knew he was joking, but we still ended up with a small plush duck that Edward dubbed 'Quackers.'

"Ooh, would you mind if I stopped in here?" I asked curiously as we passed in front of Victoria's Secret and I noticed they had a few new items I wanted to check out. Edward agreed easily and said there were a few stores we had passed earlier that he had wanted to see, so we split up and agreed to meet in front of the Fountain of the Gods in half an hour. We kissed gently and he wandered down into the mall as I headed into the store and began asking about their maternity wear. I was looking for something sexy for when I was further along in the pregnancy but all they seemed to carry were nursing bras and cellulite cream.

I started looking through some of their flowy baby dolls, which would allow for a bit of a stomach and ended up grabbing two in a bigger size on top since apparently I'll be getting huge knockers according to everyone else. I also got a few new cotton pajamas, including a very cute white one with a pink ribbon trim that looked like I would be able to wear it several months into the pregnancy. When I had finished, I wandered into the mall and found Edward waiting for me in front of the fountain looking like the cat that ate the canary.

"What did you get up to?" I asked curiously as he simply smiled wider at me.

"Nothing special. I went into Ted Baker and Hugo Boss. I didn't get anything special," he said as he reached out for my hand and I took it easily, following his lead back to the hotel, where we curled up in bed and watched a 'True Blood' marathon on HBO before finally passing out.

The next morning we began by walking up to the Wynn and enjoying breakfast in one of their small café's before heading into their art gallery. Edward got his standard headset and was excited to find out it was narrated by Steve Wynn himself. The collection he housed wasn't massive, but it was from his own personal collection, which made it all the better for me. We checked out the Van Gogh, Monet and Gaugin, with the tour ending at a Warhol painting of Wynn himself. It was a little self-indulgent for my taste, but then again it wasn't my damned casino. The prize of his collection was definitely 'Le Reve' by Picasso, which was also the inspiration for the Cirque de Soleil show at the hotel. The painting was housed in the lobby though, not the gallery, so we went out of our way to see it.

Once we had finished, we took a cab down the strip to Mandalay Bay and decided to wander around the casino and play a couple of slot machines for a little bit before taking the tram over to the Excalibur, where we simply walked through and moved on to New York, New York. We stood outside for a bit and watched the people who were riding the roller coaster before finally stepping inside and laughing about how much it looked like New York City.

"What the fuck is the point of an oxygen bar?" asked Edward as I we walked past one by the entrance we had gone through. I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of it myself, as we walked past the door to Coyote Ugly, which seemed to interest Edward. "What do you feel like doing now? Looking for the best cupcakes in the city? Seeing if they have some street vendor hot dogs or perhaps you want to drive out to the Pottery Barn in White Plains?" laughed Edward as I poked him in the shoulder.

"It doesn't look that much like New York City Edward," I scolded as we looked at their directory and decided to hit the 'Nine Fine Irishmen' Pub for lunch. As we waited in our booth, sitting side by side, staring at the strip out the window beside us, I felt Edward's hand move up over my hand slowly, a smile creeping on his face.

"So, what do you want to do this afternoon?" he asked curiously as I tried to think of something that would cool us down from the massive heat we were suffering through in Vegas. I could tell Edward was thinking of us spending private time together as his hand then slid onto my thigh and up towards my sweet spot.

"How about we go swimming at the pool?" I suggested simply as I turned my head to look at him, awaiting his reaction.

"How about we fuck in our bed?" he said as our waitress appeared with our drinks and coughed slightly, no doubt overhearing Edward's crass remarks. She took our order, Edward choosing a hamburger with Irish Cheese and Bacon and I choose a simple Turkey Panini Sandwich with French Fries and when she left, Edward continued where he left off. "I need to be with you Bella."

"Edward, we're only in Vegas for two more days, let's enjoy it for a bit instead of staying cooped up in our room. I think we should go for a swim at the pool to cool down after lunch and possibly see about getting tickets to a show tonight," I said to Edward as he continued to move his hand up and down my thigh slowly, teasingly.

"I hear Donny and Marie are playing at the Flamingo," he said with a chuckle as he suddenly leaned in and began kissing my neck, slowly ruining my resolve.

"That's definitely not even a consideration," I moaned out slowly as his tongue worked against my neck in little circles, making it hard for me to think. I ended up pulling back from him until I was against the edge of the booth in an effort to get away from him for a moment. "We could always go see one of those more _adult_ shows," I choked out as Edward looked at me with wide eyes.

"Well then, why don't we just go on over to the Crazy Horse Too and we can just see strippers and have you blow me under the table," he said with a smirk as I punched his shoulder a little harder than necessary. He reached his hand up to hold where I had hit him, pretending I had actually hurt him.

"That's also not a consideration Mr. Cullen. I was thinking like one of the Cirque Du Soleil shows that are sexy, I think it's the one that plays here at New York, New York," I explained as he nodded his head slowly.

"Okay, if we do one of these shows, it won't be Cirque. I want something sexier so that the moment we get back to the hotel, you will do nothing but let me fuck you senseless," he said sternly as I nodded my head. I didn't know what I was agreeing to, but as long as we didn't hit some skeezy strip joint in the ghetto, I knew I would be fine. Edward agreed to make the plans and our lunch came shortly thereafter, with us eating in peace before finally taking a cab back to our hotel.

We spent the next two hours enjoying the sun and water down at the pool. The wind was light in the air, so it was slightly cooling, but it was still hot as fuck. Then again, you couldn't expect less in Las Vegas in July. We played and splashed in the water, with Edward snaking his hand down my bathing suit bottom anytime he thought no one was looking. When he wasn't molesting me, he was rubbing more sunscreen on me to make sure I was completely protected from the sun, even though we had rented a cabana to sit under due to the heat. Everyone who saw us kept asking if we were newlyweds, so we just ran with it, even though towards the end of the afternoon it was getting a little tedious.

We had a quick dinner in our room before finally dressing to head out to the show at the Riviera that Edward had chose. He insisted I wear a dress and no panties, which didn't shock me because he had been extremely horny all damned day and I caught him staring at me and licking his lips more than once which was starting to drive me nuts. In fact I was already wet for him by the time we arrived at the show and were shown to our seats.

We had a private booth off to the side of the stage and before they show started, a waiter came over and offered us a complimentary glass of champagne, which Edward quickly turned down. When the lights were lowered and the show was about to start, Edward draped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him, practically onto his lap. I reached my hand over to cup his face and kiss him gently, but he had anything but gentle in mind.

His tongue immediately darted into my mouth and I moaned because he tasted so fucking good. His hands threaded their way through my hair and he pulled me closer to him as he deepened the kiss, our lips practically melding together. He only pulled apart because the music started up and the dancers came out onto the stage, prancing around seductively.

The longer we sat there, the more aroused I got. The dancers were extremely erotic and oh so very topless, as they paraded around the stage basically living out various sexual fantasies. They were not very shy in the way they touched the other girls or themselves and I had to admit, Edward had picked a decent show. It was smutty as hell, but somewhat classy. There was many a moment when I found I couldn't focus on the show because of Edward's machinations. His hands were constantly at my breasts or my pussy, kneading, tempting and touching.

After the first intermission, where a rather crude comic attempted to entertain us, the dancers came back out and started to do some work on some stripper poles. I turned my head to ask Edward something, when I felt his hand move my thighs apart and one finger dip inside me. 'Oh fuck,' I mumbled quietly as he started to finger fuck me and all my thoughts were long forgotten. I tried to keep my eyes on the stage but it was almost impossible as Edward pulled the table cloth up slightly to hide his hand. He was moving so quickly in and out of me, while his thumb rubbed my clit; I had to grip onto the edge of the table tightly to prevent myself some screaming out in pleasure.

"I can't wait to get you back to our room and fuck the hell out of you," he whispered to me as I shuddered slightly around his fingers, but didn't come. He pulled his fingers out and licked them slowly before leaning into my neck again. "I want to feel you come on my cock, not my fingers."

I looked up at the stage and two girls were teasing each other with feathers and I involuntarily moved my hand between my thighs to continue what Edward had started. When he noticed though, he quickly grabbed my wrist and held my hand back. "Please Edward," I started to beg quietly as he licked his lips and then kissed me fiercely.

"Please what?" he asked as he looked back at the stage and then moved his hands lightly over my breast like the girls were doing in front of us.

"Please let me come," I growled out quietly as he turned towards me a bit and I noticed he was rubbing his cock over his pants, it looked so hard and oh so tempting, I wanted to wrap my lips around it and suck him till he came deep inside my throat. I reached out and began moving my fingers along it, the dark denim of his jeans hiding what I really desired. As I stroked my hand along him, I suddenly gave out a small gasp as three fingers were now buried inside my pussy, moving faster and harder than before.

"Holy fuck," I mouthed as I came moments later all over his hand, which he licked deftly again before pulling me into a kiss, tasting myself in his mouth. When the next intermission came, Edward and I high tailed it out of the room and ran to find a cab to take us back to the Venetian, there was no way either of us could wait any longer to be with each other.

**EPOV**

The next morning, after two long hours of pure fucking in our hotel room which resulted with us passing out from exhaustion, I called for room service while Bella sleep soundly. They brought up a large assortment of fruit, some Belgian waffles and whipped cream, which I immediately thought of other uses for instead of breakfast.

I made sure Bella was fast asleep as I deftly moved over the nightstand where she had rested her charm bracelet which I gave to her in London. She took it off every single night and I always found myself looking at it, wishing it had more meaningful charms. Sure, there was the Eiffel Tower charm I gave her back in London as well as the Sailboat I gave her the next Christmas and the graduation cap I had given her back in May, but we had just gone through two major milestones in our life together and I thought we needed to celebrate those as well.

So when Bella was in Victoria's Secret at the Forum Shops, I went into Tiffany's, which was a few stores around the corner. I picked out a small baby cup charm that had ABC blocks on it to represent the peanut, as well as a solid heart charm that I would eventually get engraved with our engagement date. I slipped it onto the tray holding her breakfast and then moved everything towards the bed, wanting to surprise her with breakfast in bed.

"Morning sweetheart," I called to her as I climbed into the bed after resting the tray on my nightstand. I moved closer to her nuzzled into her neck as she rolled over slightly, the blanket moving from her to reveal her nude breasts to me. _Do not lick her tits. Romance her._

"Hi. What time is it?" she asked as she stretched her hands over her head and my cock grew rock hard in my boxers. This was sheer fucking torture.

"It's around eight in the morning. I got us breakfast, so I hope you are hungry," I said genuinely as she nodded her head and then grasped my face into her hands, pulling me down to kiss her. I think it was a little too much because before I knew it, she was moaning beneath me, her hands instantly fumbling to pull my boxers down. I pulled away and grabbed her breakfast tray from the table, placing it in her lap after had she sat up and looked slightly disappointed.

"I'm actually famished, seeing as you gave me quiet the workout last night. Need to keep the peanut well fed," she said with a small laugh as I nodded my head and watched intently as she pulled the lid of her plate and noticed the bracelet right away. "What the hell did you do Edward?"

She picked it up and looked at the new charms with a big smile on her face. "I just added a few things," I said softly as she leaned over and kissed me again. "The heart is for our engagement and I'll get the date engraved on it when we get back to New York and the…"

"The cup is for the peanut," she said, her eyes starting to tear up as her free hand moved over to her stomach and I reached over to touch her there as well. Our hands intertwined tenderly on her belly and I suddenly had a vision of her eight months pregnant and us doing the same thing as we felt the baby kicking. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked as I moved to pull my hand back and she tightened her grip on me.

"Go get married. Get the license, the dress, the suit… all that shit. Let's just do it," she blurted out as she tossed a raspberry into her mouth casually and I looked at her with wide eyes, disbelief coloring my face.

"Bella, I didn't do this as a way to convince you to marry me; I know we will do it one day soon. I just wanted you to have permanent reminders of our life together," I admitted as she took a big bite of her waffle and cocked an eye brow at me in surprise.

"Did you change your mind? I thought you wanted a quickie wedding and that was why you mentioned it the other day as we drove into the city? To be completely honest with you, the thought of being married before peanut makes his or her way into this world is a pretty compelling reason for us to just do it. I might have had reservations about this before, but not anymore. I want you… forever," she said to me softly as she reached back over and took my hand in hers. "So what do you say Mr. Cullen… care to make an honest woman out of me?"

"You do realize if we do this we will be pissing our families off, especially Renee, Esme and Alice."

"Who cares? Shouldn't the wedding be about you and me, not them?" she retorted as I nodded my head in agreement with her. I was certain that when we did manage to get married, it would be a small ceremony probably in New York with just our families and closest friends. We could do small in Las Vegas. "We only have tonight Edward since we need to leave for Denver tomorrow. Are we doing this?"

"We're doing this. Let me call the concierge and see what they suggest… well after I kiss my future bride and eat my breakfast, of course."

Two hours later we were sitting in our hotel room with a consultant from the hotel discussing options such as being married in a chapel, on a bridge or on a gondola through their canals in the hotel. They had a service that would take us over to the license bureau in an hour to get our license approved and they also offered to assist getting Bella a dress, but she seemed slightly reluctant.

"I think we're eventually going to have a ceremony with our families in a little while, do I need a dress?" she inquired of the consultant whose eyes lit up in excitement.

"Of course you need a dress sweetie. There will be photos and videos of this day to come. You don't need to wear the biggest most lavish Vera Wang we can find, but might I at least suggest some sort of white dress?" asked Claire, the consultant who was a genuinely kind woman doing her best to help us at such short notice. "I have a great contact at an offsite store that can bring us a few summer dress ideas, if you want."

"Okay, I'm a size 6 and I think something knee length with short sleeves or sleeveless would be best, I guess," sighed Bella as Claire wrote down the notes in her pad of paper and then excused herself to call her contact. We finalized the arrangements when she was done and went straight to get our marriage license which was a piece of cake if you have valid photo I.D. An hour later we were eating lunch in our suite before I was being shuffled to Hugo Boss to get the suit they had put on hold for me and Bella was going to be picking out a dress in our room.

I was in the midst of trying on the suit that was agreed upon when my cell phone started buzzing in the pants of my jeans on the chair in the dressing room.

_Are we really doing this? –B_

I stopped for a moment and worried she was having second thoughts. I haven't had a second thought about being with this girl for the rest of my life since I met her in Europe, but I wanted to do right by her. I didn't want this to be something she would regret.

_We can stop at any time you want Bella. – E_

Her response was almost immediate and made me smile from ear to ear.

_I don't want to stop. I'm just really fricking excited –B_

Well there went my concerns right out the window. Once I had finished trying the suit on and no changes were deemed necessary I grabbed my garment bag and hightailed it out of the store. I stopped by the consultant's office to settle the bill and make some final arrangements before eventually going back up to our suite to find Bella, getting her hair styled in the middle of the bedroom by someone from the spa.

"What's happening hot stuff?" I asked with a laugh as she glared at me for a moment.

"You're quoting the exchange student from 'Sixteen Candles' on our wedding day?" she asked with a small laugh as I shrugged my shoulders and hung my suit up in the closet.

"It's not like I'm going to suddenly morph into Farmer Ted or Long Duck Dong. I was just curious as to how my sexy soon to be wife was doing," I said genuinely as I moved closer to where she was perched in the chair and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'm going to go have a shower and then get dressed. Hopefully you'll be ready to go by then. I'm a little eager to get the show on the road."

"You just want to get to the wedding night," she said with a laugh as the hair stylist chuckled along with her and I just smirked.

"Bella, your three months pregnant. I've been there and done that," I added as I strolled from the room and took a long hot shower to relax myself as much as possible. Once I was fully dressed, I ran my fingers through my hair, tossed on a splash of cologne and felt completely prepared to marry the love of my life and mother of my peanut.

When I finally walked out into the living room, the stylist was gone and Bella was dressed and looking so fucking stunning. Her hair was up on the sides and cascaded down the back in large curls. Bella's white lace dress was strapless and knee length, like she requested, with a small ribbon wrapped around her waist and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I took her hand silently as she grabbed a matching white purse from the table and we walked from the room, looking like any other couple going for a night on the town in Vegas.

When we got into the Grand Canal Shoppes and over to the gondola loading zone, we saw Claire waiting at the side for us to join her. She tapped her hand against her clipboard as we walked closer to her and Bella looked up at me for a moment in surprise. The white gondola was draped in swags of netting covered in flowers that matched the bouquet I had Claire get for Bella, which held white hydrangeas, pink roses and green hypericum.

"I didn't even think of flowers," she said softly as she took the bouquet Claire offered her and smiled cheerfully at me.

"I know babe. The guy at Hugo Boss actually clued me into a bunch of things we hadn't considered," I said as Claire pinned the boutonniere to my jacket and Bella looked at it appraisingly.

"Perfect," she muttered as they explained to us the process of videotaping and photography for the wedding. Crowds of tourists had gathered around and were taking pictures and watching as we stood and listened to Claire as she spoke. They were going to do video of us from the Rialto Bridge where they plan to have us stop and recite our vows and once the ceremony was over, there would be the rest of the ride on the gondola and then photos taken in their chapel, on the bridge and some outdoors where the façade of the building looked like the streets in Italy.

"This all sounds wonderful," I stated as Bella looked at me with both excitement and fear in her eyes. Claire handed me the bands we had ordered from Tiffany's as she wished us luck. The gondolier helped me into the boat first, followed by Bella and the minster was already seated across from us. I noticed Bella had her hands wrapped tightly around her bouquet, so tight that the whites of her knuckles were visible and my heart started to beat out of my chest. After everything we had gone through and said to each other today, did she really _not_ want to get married. I wasn't going to do this unless she was completely prepared.

"Are you ready Mrs. Cullen?"

**A/N: Just as a note, yes I know the Wynn Gallery isn't there anymore. It was really nice when I went through it not long after they hotel opened. I described it as it had been… using a little artistic license folks. LOL**


	18. Las Vegas, NV to Denver, CO

**A/N: Short note tonight. Thanks for all the love for the chapter in Las Vegas. I loved writing it and was glad to see you all loved reading it. If anyone lives in the Kansas City, St. Louis or Memphis area, please message me. I need ideas for things to do in those cities.**

**Thanks to the everawesome fucktabulous MaggieMay14 for doing her beta magic and helping me with a small fork in the road. **

**There's a playlist for the story on my profile, so check that out if you want some great music.**

**That's All. I don't own twilight, but I am listening to 'Welcome to the Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance right this very second.**

**BPOV**

The drive to Denver was tedious as hell. We left at the crack of dawn from Las Vegas the next morning and we split the driving, with Edward going first as I either slept peacefully in the passenger seat or played with the iPod, fiddling around for something I could handle listening to. I ended up listening to 'You are Mine' by Mutemath for like twenty minutes straight before Edward grabbed the iPod from me and put it on shuffle, refusing to let me touch it for the rest of the drive. It was supposed to be an eleven hour drive, but we made it in ten with two quick stops for snacks and bathroom breaks. When we got to Angela and Ben's place in Golden, Colorado, just to the west of Denver, it was just before dinner time.

"Holy hell, if it isn't my maid of honor herself," laughed Angela when she opened the door and found Edward and I standing there, looking tired as hell. My morning sickness had subsided, thankfully, but I was feeling pretty run down from the drive from Las Vegas. "You need to give me a huge hug."

I stepped forward and Angela enveloped me into a gigantic hug, which reminded me instantly of our high school days. Angela was always huge on displays of affection and she and Ben had been caught on more than one occasion coming out of the janitor's closet, which was strictly forbidden for the minister's daughter. They had gotten married last summer in a small ceremony back in Forks that was performed by her father, Reverend Weber. Edward and I had gone and I had been her maid of honor, although she planned everything herself and all I needed to do was wear a dress that she had picked out. I had no help in the planning or decision making, unlike with Rosalie's wedding, where she was asking my opinion about everything minute detail. I had even spent two hours with her on the phone as we travelled through Colorado today.

"You are looking exceptionally happy," I said to Angela as she pulled Edward and me into the living room of her new house. Ben had gotten a great job for an engineering firm down in Denver last fall, which was why they relocated here in the first place. They ended up buying a small beast of a house and have spent every minute of free time fixing it up. The kitchen had been Angela's pride and joy and she gushed about it through her emails to me over the past ten months. As we walked into it, I had to admit the photos and descriptions hadn't done it justice.

"My best friend is here… why wouldn't I be happy?" she asked with a wide grin as she stared down at my hand. "Plus she's engaged and didn't fricking tell me," she added excitedly as she jumped up and down then grasped my hand, checking out the rock Edward had given me just two short weeks ago.

"Well, it wasn't exactly something I wanted to share over the phone or via email," I admitted as Angela pulled Edward into a hug and then kissed him on both cheeks.

"Congrats man," stated Ben stoically as we all followed him out onto their back patio where he was busy grilling up some hamburgers and sausages for dinner. Ah, a home cooked meal sounded really good right now since me and my heartburn were finding that eating out was starting to drive us nuts. I should buy stock in Tums.

"So… when's the wedding? You're not doing it in Forks are you? Fuck that would be awful. I could just see Renee planning something down at the Legion or something and the drink of choice would be a huge vat of McDonald's orange punch. Please tell me your mother will not be a factor in the wedding planning," asked Angela enthusiastically as I grabbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down. I dragged her down to the patio set that was already setup with all the fixings for our dinner tonight. Edward brought the food down to the table with Ben and once we were all sat down, I decided to just bite the bullet.

"No, Renee will not be planning a wedding in Forks. Edward and I will get married in New York… after the baby is born," I said nervously as Edward gripped my thigh tightly in support. I wished I had a camera with me though because Angela's eyes suddenly grew huge and her mouth dropped open. Her fork then fell on the ground, followed by the plate which held her hamburger. Their golden retriever, Buddy, came over and greedily ate everything as we watched with a laugh. It took Angela a few minutes to finally compose herself.

"What did you say?" she choked out as I smiled crookedly at her.

"We're having a baby. It's due at the end of January," said Edward happily as Ben patted him on the back and offered us his congratulations.

"Holy shit," said Angela with a grin. "I am completely shocked, but so very happy for you guys. Wow… a baby." We spent the rest of our dinner discussing the baby situation and Angela was beyond excited for us. She spewed out name suggestions, decorating ideas and even went into a long rant about the benefits of cloth diapers over disposables, which was too much for my brain to digest. She eventually told me that she and Ben were going to start trying next fall for their own little one, but in the meantime she had been researching things in her downtime from work and their house renovations.

After dinner, Edward and Ben grabbed our bags from the Yukon as Angela then led us up to the second floor, where their guest bedroom was. "You guys are in here, sorry for the mess," she said with a laugh as I noticed there was no carpeting or flooring of any kind in the bedroom, just plywood floorboards. "We've got the wood flooring down in the garage; we just haven't managed to start laying it yet."

"It's no problem Angela, truly," said Edward politely as they left us alone for a few moments to get situated. "That was pretty painless," he added to me as he wrapped his arms around me and leaned in to kiss me sweetly on the lips.

"I was expecting more actually. I wouldn't be shocked if we woke up in the morning to find Angela had arranged a baby shower in her sleep," I said with a laugh as we lay down for a moment on the comfortable bed, our arms firmly wrapped around each other. "She reminds me of Alice in that regard, she never does anything half heartedly."

"Great… two Alice's... just what the world needs," laughed Edward as we spent the next few moments kissing and enjoying the solitude before Angela yelled up that they wanted to start the movie we had agreed to watch. We reluctantly climbed out of the bed and headed down the stairs to make ourselves comfortable on the loveseat as Ben slipped some action movie in. After about ten minutes, Edward seemed genuinely interested as I curled myself into his side and he started to stroke my hair gently. I was asleep almost instantly.

"Come on babies, let's get you up to bed," said Edward soothingly as I felt him lift me from the couch and carry me up the stairs to the guest room.

"What time is it?" I mumbled quietly against his chest as I felt the bed compress beneath my weight. Edward yanked off my socks gently and then followed suit with my shorts, before pulling the sheets up to cover my tired body, which was clad only in a t-shirt, bra and panties.

"It's just before eleven, now go to sleep. I'll be back in a few minutes," he said genuinely as I nodded my head and tried to get comfortable without him in the bed. When he eventually walked back in, he stripped off his clothes till he was left in only his dark green flannel boxers and climbed in beside me. "I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"We couldn't sleep without you," I said sincerely as I felt his arm close around me before coming to rest on my stomach. I was back asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, I felt fairly well rested when we descended the stairs and found Ben and Angela cooking up a feast for breakfast. "I'm only eating for two not thirty two," I joked as I noticed all the fruit, eggs, bacon, toast and pancakes they had set up on the counter. Angela was even working away on french toast as Ben freshly squeezed some orange juice for all of us.

"How do you know you are only having one baby Bella?" asked Angela curiously as she pulled some plates down from the counter and slid them in front of us. "You could be the next octomom."

"Shut the hell up Angela Weber… I mean Cheney," I corrected myself as I was suddenly bombarded with images of me, Edward and eight kids. "If I was having more than one, wouldn't I be showing by now? I have been reading the books you know."

"Just getting you riled up sugar," laughed Angela as I groaned in frustration and began helping myself to some of the spread they had for us. "So, we have a morning at the spa planned and the boys are going golfing down at Arrowhead Country Club. The tee time is at eleven, so don't be late," she chastised Ben knowingly. He frowned slightly as I giggled in recollection of all the times during high school he had been late to class. For their first anniversary as a couple, Angela had gotten him a new watch with an alarm on it and he was still always late.

"After that we thought it would be nice to show you guys the Art District on Santa Fe. They have some awesome stores, galleries and restaurants down there," explained Ben as Edward and I both nodded along, shoveling some of the delicious breakfast into our mouths like it had been weeks since we ate.

Half an hour later, Edward and Ben were being shoved out the front door by Angela. I had to run past her to get a goodbye kiss from him as she was yanking on my arm to pull me back into the house. "You spend every waking moment with that man, it's time for some girl talk," she mumbled to me as we grabbed our purses and she led us to the garage which housed her small Volkswagen Golf. We were at the Serenity Spa within an hour and were ushered straight in to our first treatment after Angela let them know that I was expecting. "I don't think they need to make any changes, but it's better to let them know in advance," she explained as I nodded appreciatively.

Once we got comfortable in our side by side chairs, preparing for our facials, she immediately started in with the questions about everything. "So… how do you really feel about the baby? I mean, I can tell you are excited; at least you are around Edward, who is practically beaming with excitement. How do **you **feel though?" Angela looked at me in sheer curiosity and I felt relieved that I could talk to her about my reservations, because yes, even though I wanted this baby, I had reservations.

"I'm so bloody nervous," I admitted awkwardly as she reached over and grasped my hand in hers. "I mean, it's such a huge step and I'm not scared of actually giving birth, I'm scared of raising this kid. I don't want to fuck it all up." I ran my hands across my face after Angela released her grip on my hand.

"You'll be a great mom Bella," she said sincerely as I looked at her with wide eyes.

"How do you know that, oh wise one?"

"Intuition. Just like I knew you and Edward were perfect for each other when you emailed me about him in Europe. I knew it would work out and I am absolutely one hundred percent certain everything will be fine with the little one," she said with a sigh as she patted my stomach and the two ladies, Kirstie and Carol, came in to start the facials.

"Do you have any names picked out?" she mumbled as Carol started her facial massage and Kristie began working on mine. I had to admit it felt heavenly.

"We've discussed it briefly, but I find myself thinking that it would be adorable if I had a little Edward Junior," I said honestly as I heard all the ladies giggle around me. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just very adorable to hear you talk like that. What if it's a girl?" questioned Angela.

"I dunno… I kinda like it when girls have boys' names, like Charlie. I think a little girl named Charlie would be cute as hell too," I said as Angela smiled brightly at me. "I'm sure Edward and I will figure it out once we find out the sex of the baby."

"You're going to find out?" asked Kirstie as I stared up at her in surprise. "Sorry, just curious. My sister is having her first and she refuses to find out, she wants the surprise factor."

"Yeah well, just having this baby is surprise enough," I said with a laugh as she began slathering some sort of beige junk on my face and it was infinitely harder to talk. After our facials were completed, Kirsten and Carol gave us a quick shoulder massage and then we were led into separate rooms where I got to enjoy a deep tissue massage specifically for pregnant women. Sure, I didn't have the belly yet but I didn't feel overly comfortable at the prospect of lying face down on the table, so they brought out some pregnancy pads for me and I let them work their magic. Half an hour later, I walked out of the room instantly relaxed.

Angela and I went through manicures and pedicures, chatting about possible wedding dates for Edward and I, how excited she is about becoming an 'Aunt' and how she desperately wants to come to both the bridal and baby showers. By the time the day at the spa was over, I wanted another spa day to relax from the one I just had. Angela insisting on treating me to all the services and we then hopped into her car, eager to get down to Santa Fe street to see the guys.

**EPOV**

Golf with Ben was interesting. In fact, I think interesting was an understatement. Sure, I was no Tiger Woods or anything like that, but Ben was utterly horrible. He desperately wanted to go golfing with someone who wouldn't make fun of him constantly, since apparently whenever he went golfing with some of the guys from work, they complained about how much he sucked. He was trying though, so I had to give him props for that.

I ended up having a lot of time to think about things as I waited for Ben to get his way out of the rough or a bunker. "So, you and Angela are thinking about having kids?" I asked Ben as he two-stroked his way out of a pretty sandy bunker off to the right side of the fairway.

"Uh… yeah," stammered Ben as he climbed his way out of the bunker and began looking for his ball. "We've been discussing it. Since work for her is slow in the summer, we thought it would be good to plan in advance and try to have her give birth in the late spring."

I followed Ben down the fairway towards his ball and he pulled out his three iron as I waited for him to take another stroke. "When did you and Bella decide to have kids?" he asked with a smile as I watched him hit his ball into the rough again, at least this time he was closer to where my ball lay.

"We didn't really decide. I guess we decided when the pregnancy test was positive," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "I'm not complaining though. I am actually really excited to be a dad. I think Bella is nervous and thinks she is hiding it well, but she's not."

"Why do you think she is nervous?" asked Ben as he positioned himself in front of his ball again and hit a shot that went clear the other side of the green. He sighed as we neared closer to the seventh hole and I then positioned myself, taking the shot and landing a few inches from the hole. "You're good by the way."

"Yeah, blame my father for my golf abilities," I said with a laugh as I thought of all the times my father had dragged me out golfing with some of his buddies over the past few years during my summer trips to visit him during college. "Why do I think she's nervous? I honestly have no idea. I spend time trying to reassure her that we are ready for the change and all that shit but sometimes I don't think she believes me."

Ben and I wandered up a small hill towards the green and he quickly ran to the far side and took his shot, miraculously landing in the hole and getting him a plus four on the hole. Not bad on a par four, I laughed to myself so that he didn't hear me. I putted in for par and we continued to walk along the course, carrying our oversized bags along. After the seventh hole, we decided to stop keeping score, for Ben's sanity mainly. "So, you don't think she's ready to be a mom?"

"I think she is ready to be a mom. I don't think Bella thinks she is ready to be a mom, if that makes any sense at all," I stammered as we waited at the eighth tee for another group of guys to finish their turn. A pretty brunette on a golf cart drove along and asked if we wanted anything to drink. I grabbed a beer as Ben opted for a bottle of water. As I paid her, she slipped me a small piece of paper with her name and phone number on it, which I quickly threw into the garbage as she drove away from sight.

"Are you ready to be a dad?" asked Ben as he motioned to the garbage can when I just threw the slip of paper.

"Do you have to ask? I didn't even bother to look at the paper, even though I could see her number written on it. I haven't looked at another woman like I look at Bella and the thought of her having my child… _my child_, practically has me giddy like a schoolgirl," I admitted with a weak smile as he patted me on the shoulder supportively.

The grouping ahead of us had finished and was walking down the fairway towards where their balls lay. "I think if you are concerned about it, you should mention it to her. Maybe she's worried that you are nervous about being a dad and it's just a whole jumble of mixed signals," laughed Ben as he lined up to take his shot and swung earnestly, the ball heading straight into the woods to the right of the fairway. "At least I suck consistently."

The rest of our time on the course continued on much the same. We discussed the future, his housing renovations and when Bella and I would start looking for our own place in New York. We ended up letting three other groupings play through because Ben was having a rough go of it and when we finally finished, I was beyond relieved. As we went out to the car with his clubs, after returning my rentals to the pro shop, the brunette that was driving the beer cart saw me and waved cheerfully. I pretended I didn't notice her and kept on walking, eager to see Bella after her day at the spa.

It was just before four when Ben and I parked in a small lot on the south side of Santa Fe street and began walking towards a small store called 'Things that Glow' where Angela had informed him via text that they would be. When we walked in, sure enough the store was exactly like it claimed to be; it was filled with things that glowed, from glow sticks to gloves to various LED light show accessories.

"Hey boys," said Angela as she and Bella strolled over to us, both smiling brightly. They led us out of the shop and we started to stroll down the sidewalk, before stopping in front of clothing store. "Are you guy's hungry?"

"Um… well we did skip lunch because we were so full from breakfast. What did you have in mind?" I asked of Angela as she pointed to a restaurant across the street called 'Breckenridge Brewery'. "Looks good, right Bella?"

"Do they offer more than beer?" she asked, her voice laced with concern as Angela nodded quickly.

"Yeah, they have micro-brew but also some really awesome food. Trust me Bella, you'll love it," said Angela as she wrapped Bella's arm in hers and strolled across the empty street and into the restaurant. We were seated quickly since it was still fairly early in the evening for dinner and while Ben and Angela both ordered beer, I stuck to sweet tea just like Bella had ordered. I could see her look at me sweetly and felt no remorse over my choice.

"So, I sucked huge today," laughed Ben as I simply nodded my head. "We stopped keeping score once I hit triple digits after the seventh hole." The waitress interrupted us briefly to take our food order as Bella ordered their baby back ribs and I got the brisket, apparently we were both craving red meat.

"How did you do Edward?" asked Angela, once our waitress had left. Bella was sipping on her tea, watching me intently as I explained how I played alright and no squirrels were injured, which I couldn't promise about Ben's playing. "We had a decent day at the spa."

"I'm glad to hear you were able to relax," I said with a sigh as I leaned in and kissed Bella's temple sweetly.

"Yeah, it was nice to be able to have some girl talk with Angela," said Bella with a wink in Ang's direction. I was curious to know what their girl talk entailed, but let it slide until we were alone. After all, there were a few things I wanted to discuss with her anyways. "If we haven't mentioned it already, thank you guys so much for putting up with us for the past two days. I only wish we could be staying longer."

"I know Bella, but like we talked about earlier, Ben and I will definitely make it up to New York for the wedding and whether I have to come alone or not, I will be there for the baby shower," Angela said cheerfully as Bella's smile grew wider. "We loved having you guys here."

The rest of our dinner went by smoothly, which was how things usually went with Angela and Ben, two of the most kind-hearted people I had ever met. We joked happily about some stupid baby name ideas they had and Ben and I discussed the upcoming football season. He was a diehard Seahawks fan, while I was obviously a fan of the Patriots, having been raised in Boston. When we finished dinner, it was nearing seven, so we decided to walk off the excess calories we just ate and walk through some of the galleries and stores on the street.

As we walked through the galleries, Bella seemed pleased with the variety of art that was available, but nothing caught her eye enough to make a purchase. Ben and Angela ended up picking out a nice looking painting of the Rocky Mountains to hang over their fireplace mantel. The fireplace was still in the midst of being finished, framed out with river rock and other natural materials, but what they had in place was superb. I couldn't help but admit that I wished Bella and I could design our own house, choosing every single thing within it from the light fixtures to the flooring. After Angela got reassurance from the gallery owner that the painting would be delivered on Sunday afternoon, we headed back out into the now chilly Denver night.

We got home just before ten and everyone was simply exhausted from being out all day. We said a simple goodnight and headed off to sleep, promising not to sneak out in the morning without saying goodbye.

"Did you really have fun today?" I asked Bella as she slipped one of my t-shirts over her naked body and climbed into bed. A quick glimpse of her breasts and I was instantly hard.

"Yeah, it was fun. I had a facial and a massage, followed by a manicure and pedicure," she said happily as she sat in bed and lifted up her leg to show me here perfected painted toe nails. Fuck, her legs looked sexy as hell. I shook my head for a moment and recalled my earlier conversation at the golf course with Ben. I wanted to discuss that more than I wanted to have sex with my girl… or did I?

I crawled into bed beside Bella and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, letting my hand move slowly up and down the side of her neck. "Are you worried about being a mom?" I asked bluntly as she turned around to look at me in surprise.

"Did Angela talk to you?" she asked slightly angry.

"No. I just could tell something was off and I thought that might be it," I said succinctly as she curled herself into me and unloaded on me about her fears.

"Yeah… I'm not worried about the childbirth and all the stuff leading up to the delivery and whatnot. I'm worried about when the peanut comes out and I actually have to take care of it," she said simply as I stroked her hair gently and tried to reassure her.

"You do realize that it's not just you… it's you and me tackling this together, right?" I said sweetly as she nodded her head slowly and pressed her cheek against my bare chest. "It's not just you waking up at three in the morning, I'll be there too. I'll change the diapers and wash and dress the little peanut too. We're a team baby, so please stop worrying; it's not good for your blood pressure."

"Thanks Dr. Cullen," she said with a laugh as I kissed her forehead before moving my way down her neck, my lips finding their home at the swell of her breasts.

"I think you need a thorough physical Miss," I said seductively as Bella groaned slightly as I moved my hands up the inside of her thighs, knowing full well she was bare beneath my t-shirt.

"Sounds like a plan Dr. Cullen."

**A/N: Two more fic rec's, this time for underappreciated stories, one is called 'Sacrilege' by espritblanc and the other is called 'Rescue Me' by sparagus. Seriously, both are very underappreciated and need your loving!**


	19. Denver, CO to Kansas City, MO

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews on the last chapter. I promise Angela will make another appearance since you all seem to like her so much.**

**Also a big thanks to april115, lem60605, QteeEagle, freakybella and teeroxmuhsox who sent me some great information on Kansas City, St. Louis and Memphis. Some of which is used in this chapter.**

**Since my other story is almost done, I promise this will get updated more regularly soon. Thanks to MaggieMay14 and Flightlessbird11 who reviewed this chappie for me. You girls rock!**

**Also as an FYI: American Girl won the 'You are my Life Now Award' for Best All-Human Story at The Cullenizer Awards Website. Thanks gee1995 for nominating me! I also won Best Typie (Author) and Best Huminator (All Human Fic) for Cabin Fever in the Twi Fic Awards. Still fucking floored, since I never win anything. Not even scratch off lottery tickets.**

**I don't own twilight, but I am slacking on working I need to do. Come visit us on twitter and distract me even more. - CPW**

**BPOV**

The next morning was one of the hardest of our entire trip, thus far. I didn't want to leave Angela and Ben's place in Denver because I felt at home when we were with them. As we were saying our goodbyes, I broke out into tears that lasted half an hour after we left. "Are you sure you are going to be alright Bella?" asked Edward nervously as he considered pulling off the highway for the third time since we pulled out of the driveway and I had officially gone through the entire box of Kleenex that Angela had given me before we left.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I sniveled as I wiped the last tissue under my nose and tried to compose myself. "I just miss them."

"We'll come back and visit before the peanut is born okay?" he suggested as I lamely nodded my head.

"That's a good idea," I added as I started to pull out the map we had for Kansas. "I think we should stop for some lunch in Hays and then continue on to Kansas City, Missouri. We can stay there for a night before continuing on to the next place," I mentioned as I noticed Edward nod his head out of the corner of my eye.

A few hours into the drive I saw a huge sign for the world's largest easel in Woodland, Kansas and needless to say, we were off the road as fast as we could so that I could see it. My sadness over leaving Angela and Ben was instantly gone the moment I glimpsed Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' was the painting perched upon the monstrosity.

"It's actually kinda pretty," I said as I craned my neck back to get a better look at the entire thing and Edward was busy taking pictures.

"Did you folks know that if you get onto Highway 9, you can see the world's biggest ball of twine," said the awkward looking stranger beside us. He was dressed casually in a pair of worn down jean shorts and a matching jean shirt, which I honestly think his wife probably made herself with her 1965 Singer sewing machine. "The wife and I have been touring the country checking out all the things that are 'the world's biggest'," he explained as I held in the laughter that was forming within me.

"No shit," laughed Edward happily. "We saw the world's largest telephone in Bryant Pond, Maine a few weeks ago." I watched as Edward and the gentleman, whose name we discovered was Ernie, talked cheerfully about some of the other things they had seen along their travels. There was the longest piece of seamless steel siding in Fargo, North Dakota; the largest catfish in Troy, Alabama and my personal favorite, the largest doorknob in Vining, Minnesota.

"We're heading on down to Pismo Beach to see the world's largest clam. That was the main reason for the trip. Wife complained we'd never seen a clam before," explained Ernie with a smile as he motioned towards his 1970's Airstream trailer that was being pulled behind his dilapidated pickup truck. I couldn't help but think that he reminded me completely of cousin Eddie from the Vacation movie series. "If you folks head on up near Louisville you should check out the ginormous baseball glove and bat they have up there. It's stunning really."

"Thanks for the suggestion there Ern," laughed Edward as he finished taking photos and turned to me to make sure I was doing alright. I shot him a quick thumbs up, but quickly realized we had spent 15 additional minutes at the easel simply chatting to Ernie about … big things.

"The wife and I are saving up our pennies to make a trip to China. Do you know they have the world's largest penis there?" he said in all seriousness as I suddenly choked on the water I was drinking and Edward came over to pat me on the back.

"Umm… no. We had no idea," said Edward coolly, a grin wide on his face as he listened to Ernie ramble on.

"It's made of straw, but it would truly be the pinnacle of our collection of 'world's largest'. Our friends would be so envious." Ernie continued on for almost five more minutes about the straw cock in China before I noticed Edward was getting impatient, so I started whining about needing to eat. When we finally got back into the car, Edward gave me a huge kiss before thanking me for getting him out of one of the most awkward situations of our entire trip. I felt worse when dealing with Ernie than I did telling my parents I was pregnant.

It was just after five when we pulled into the parking lot of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Kansas City. Edward and I had decided to stay for two nights in Kansas City before we continued on towards Memphis. After we checked in and ordered room service, we both proceeded to get into some comfortable clothes and sat down on the tiny couch to watch television together.

"Okay, so what are we going to do in KC tomorrow?" asked Edward as I flipped through the tourism guide that I found in the desk drawer when I was looking for the room service menu. There were a few things that seemed interesting, but none more than 'Chips.'

"We're going to a chocolate factory. We're going to find out how they make fudge and then I am going to seduce one of the chocolatiers into giving me free chocolate," I said with a smirk as Edward nudged me gently.

"So are you finally admitting you seduced the other guys into the freebies?" he asked with a wide smile.

"Hell no. I'm just really craving chocolate and I am sure if I mention it to one of the people there that I am pregnant, I'll get loaded up on cocoa goodness," I replied as he wrapped his arm over my shoulder and held me close to him.

"If you have a craving baby, let me know and I will head out to the first 7-11 I can find and get whatever you want. I might not watch as you devour a vat of ice cream and a jar of pickles though," he said sweetly as he kissed my temple and we were interrupted by a swift knock on the door, dinner had arrived. We sat on the floor of the living room eating dinner while a Family Guy rerun played in the background. Once everything was done and Edward had put our empty trays into the hallway, I decided to go and take a bath to relax. When I came out, I was a little surprised by what I found.

_Oh yeah… come on baby… come all over my tits… that's right… stroke that big cock… (loud grunting)_

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked as I walked up to Edward who was sitting on the couch in only his boxers, slack jawed and watching some huge fake breasted blonde chick beg some greasy long haired dude to come all over her. "Are you watching porno?"

"It's free."

"What do you mean it's free?" I asked dumbfounded as I looked back to the screen and it had changed scenes. Some girl was now propositioning some chubby looking guy on a golf course and offered to 'spit shine his balls'. I couldn't help the laughter that broke through my slight discomfort from finding my man watching porno without me.

"I mean, I was channel surfing and came across this… I didn't order it I swear," said Edward as a mischievous grin covered his face and his eyes suddenly raked over my wet, towel clad body. "I think it's called 'Caddysnatch' but there are no gophers, only beavers," he added with a laugh as he suddenly stood up and walked towards me confidently.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I backed away from his darkened glare and meaningful strides. Before I knew it, I was pressed against the bathroom door, my towel pooled around my ankles as his hand stroked me between the legs.

"If I need to spell it out for you Bella, I'm clearly not doing it right," laughed Edward as he suddenly reached behind me, his hands grasping my ass firmly as he lifted me up, my legs immediately wrapping around his waist. "I'm going to fuck you baby."

"Yes please," I murmured against his neck as I began peppering it with kisses before finally just biting down on him, breaking the skin slightly as I used my feet to pull his boxers from his body, releasing his cock that was hard as nails. "Did watching that movie turn you on baby? Cause you know if you just ask I would have watched one with you," I groaned out as I felt his cock move against my wet slit.

"You turn me on Bella… only you make me hard like this," he said as he suddenly bent his knees slightly and plunged his cock into me before thrusting me against the wall again.

"Oh fuck yes," I growled loudly as I interlocked my fingers behind his neck and let him plunder me against the wall beside the bathroom. I held back a giggle as the hideous painting on the wall beside us shook with our movements and Edward stilled for a moment, no doubt assuming I was laughing at him. "It's not you baby… really. The painting is about to fall," I tried to explain as he narrowed his eyes and started walking away from the wall and over to the bed. He pulled out and threw me onto the bed, my body bouncing against the soft mattress a few times before he came to join me.

"Spread em Swan," he said with a smooth voice as I opened my legs eagerly for him. I lay back down against the pillows and gripped the bed as he thrust into me again, groaning in pleasure as I felt his thick cock bury within me.

_Oh fuck yes, you dirty whore, take all of my cock, bitch._

"I should have turned that off huh?" chuckled Edward as he pulled out and was about to hop off the bed to get the remote, but I grabbed his hand.

"Ignore the fucking movie and fuck me Edward," I instructed him as he nodded his head and began rubbing his fingers deftly around my clit. My back arched as he touched me tenderly before pushing his cock back inside me. "Oh christ yes… fuck me… ohh…"

"So much better than any fucking porn," growled Edward as he lowered his lips to mind and grabbed my ankles, pulling them onto his shoulders so that he could fuck me deeper and harder.

"Oh god yes… you are a thousand times better than a porno baby," I muttered incoherently as I grasped my breasts firmly in my hands and he continued to pound into me with all of his might. His thumb found my clit again and the moment it touched me, I came hard. Screaming out his name, grunting and groaning as my orgasm washed over me.

With a few more thrusts, Edward was spilling into me with a loud grunt of pleasure. He rolled off of me and I rolled into his side, noticing the big smile on his face. I draped my arm over his bare chest and curled into him. "I love you ya know, with all my heart."

"I love you too babe, with all my soul." We fell asleep in our same positions and I didn't even notice when Edward woke up in the middle of the night to cover us with some blankets.

**EPOV**

We got to Chips Chocolate Factory at the Crown Center just before eleven in the morning and just before we got out of the SUV, Bella's cell phone began ringing. "Hello," she said tentatively, not anticipating any phone calls. She had already spoken to Rosalie earlier in the morning and talked her down from a ledge regarding her flower arrangements, so Bella cocked an eye in confusion as I heard her speaking.

"Yes. I understand," she said as she held her hand up to me when she noticed I was about to start speaking. "That's perfectly fine. August 12th at nine in the morning will be fine." When Bella closed her phone, I looked at her nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. It was the doctor's office. Apparently he's injured his knee and is out of commission for a few weeks. They want to move our ultrasound appointment back by a week," she said calmly as I was suddenly worried.

"Is that okay?" I asked with concern. "It doesn't make a difference to the peanut does it?"

"No Edward, it won't make a difference," she said with a laugh as we got out of the car and started to head into the mall which housed the factory. "If anything, the peanut will be a little more developed and maybe we can see more clearly if it's a boy or a girl. Plus we now get an extra week on the road," I perked up slightly as she spoke and we walked inside the building where we were greeted by an overly excitable teenage girl.

"Um… yeah, hi there. Welcome to Chips," she said sweetly as I saw her smile brightly at me. "Can I help you?"

"We want to take a tour. There are samples right?" asked Bella eagerly as the girl nodded her head and continued to smile at me.

"Yes, there are samples ma'am. Please head to your left for the tour," she said as I grabbed Bella's elbow and guided her down the small corridor to sign up for the tour.

"She called me ma'am," said Bella incredulously as she looked up at me with wide eyes. "I might be pregnant and all, but she doesn't know that. I am no one's ma'am. I have half a mind to go back there and show that little flirty hussy who she is dealing with," she said loudly as I pulled her to my side and hugged her close.

"There's no need to cause a scene baby," I said as I kissed her temple and signed us up for the next tour which left right at eleven and paid our five dollar fee. It was a nice change of pace since we were together now, that we didn't fight over who paid to get into sights or at restaurants.

We ended up getting stuck with a tour group which consisted of four kids under the age of 8, so it was a little bit of a pain in the ass. I spent most of my time making faces at the six month old girl who was being held in a Baby Bjorn on the front of her father while we walked through the factory. I found myself making a mental note to make sure we got one for our little peanut before it was born. The tour ended up lasting forty five minutes during which I kept catching Bella wiping drool from the corner of her mouth. When we had finished, we were given a small goody bag with fudge, chocolate and a sticker, which made Bella even more excited. We ended up buying almost forty dollars worth of fudge and chocolate before finally calling it a day and heading through the mall for some shopping.

"Would you mind if we went into Victoria's Secret?" asked Bella nervously. _Fuck no I wouldn't mind._

"Sure, if you want to go, let's go," I said happily as she led the way up to the store on the third level of the plaza. When we walked in, I immediately felt overwhelmed by all the satin, lace and silk. I simply followed Bella around the store as she pulled a few bras off the rack and then headed to find a salesperson that would help her.

"Excuse me," she said sweetly as she tapped a short brunette girl on the shoulder. "Would you be able to check my size?" _Um… what's that now. _

"Sure, why don't you follow me to a back room and we'll get everything taken care," said the brunette casually as I followed them, my eyes raised in curiosity as I listened to their every word. Bella sat the few bras she had picked out down on a small chair in the changing room as Sarah, the brunette, walked in with her and I sat down in a small chair across from the changing room, my leg bouncing impatiently as I watched with baited breath. "Do you think your size has changed?"

"Well, my bras have felt a bit tighter. I'm expecting a baby in a few months and it's obvious my breasts are getting a bit bigger," said Bella as my eyes opened widely. Had I not been paying attention to notice her boobs were growing? I mean, it hasn't been a huge difference has it. I would have noticed a cup size or two wouldn't I?

I was slightly disappointed when Sarah closed the changing room door, but I could thankfully hear them still discussing everything. Apparently Bella was now a 36C and if I am not mistaken, she used to be a 34B. Fuck, they had grown. I wonder how big they will get when she's nursing. Shit. Since when was I a boob man? _You like it all Cullen, stop bitching._

When the door finally opened, Bella stood there with a small frown on her face. "Are you okay?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. I just can't believe they grew so much, does it look like they grew?" she asked as she suddenly moved her hands below her tits and cupped them. _And now I'm hard._

I coughed lightly and looked around to make sure no one was around before standing up and moving into the change room to join her. I gripped each breast lightly in my hand and then leaned down to kiss her neck. "They feel perfect to me baby. I don't care what size you are," I said genuinely as she pushed me back against the door.

"Are you just saying that?"

"Saying what? That you have nice tits? I think I've been saying that you have lovely breasts for four years now Bella, so no; I'm not just saying that. Now let's pick you out some bras so I can take you home and you can model them for me, unless of course you can show me now," I said with a wink as Sarah returned carrying several different bras for Bella.

"Um… excuse me sir, but you can't be in there with her," she said with a sigh. Something tells me that she says that phrase more often than she wants to.

"It's all good. I'll just go back to my seat and wait," I said as I slipped out of the changing room with Sarah and went back to my chair, waiting like a good boy.

"What do you think of this one?" asked Bella as she tossed a black lace one over the door, still perched on the hanger. It was fucking hot and see through.

"Very pretty," I said trying to sound as casual as possible as I leaned back in the chair and propped my foot back on my knee.

"And this one?" she asked as she showed me a bright red satin one with white detailing and a small bow in the center.

"You'd looked beautiful in or out of it," I stated cheerfully as she then spent the next twenty minutes asking my opinions on the various styles she had. Of course, I was more partial to the more risqué ones, but the Sarah convinced her to buy a few cotton ones in a size bigger for further into the pregnancy.

When we walked out of the store, I glanced down at my watch and noticed it was already three in the afternoon. Bella explained that she was feeling pretty tired so we decided to simply head back over to our hotel to catch a late nap, followed by a late dinner of room service.

When we got into the room, we both changed into some loose shorts and t-shirts before crawling onto the bed and curling into one another. Since I wasn't as tired as Bella, I grabbed the baby name book that was on the nightstand and started to flip through it.

"What do you think of Seamus?" I asked with a slight chuckle as Bella buried her head into my chest.

"What does it mean?"

"Umm… supplanter, whatever the fuck that means. Okay, I don't like how Seamus Cullen sounds," I said as I flipped the page and looked up another name. "Aiden means little fire. Do you like that one?"

"Aiden Cullen… hmm, it works I suppose," sighed Bella as her breathing slowed slightly since she was so tired. "Any kid of yours would certainly be a little spit fire wouldn't it?"

"Okay, next suggestion is…" I said as I flipped the pages and shoved my finger down on the page, letting fate decide for me. "Joshua Cullen?"

"Umm… that's okay, I gess. Aren't you going to look up girls names?" she asked as her hand rubbed lazy circles against my stomach and I sighed.

"That was for a girl," I said with a laugh as Bella punched me lightly in the stomach. "Okay… looking up girls names now."

"Thank you," she mumbled as I sorted through the book again and randomly picked out a name.

"What about Phoebe Cullen? It's Greek from bright; moon."

"Next."

"Alrighty then picky. How about Lilyana?"

"Next."

"Christ your difficult when you are tired," I said with a groan as I ran my fingers along her hair and flipped the book again. "How does Chloe sound? Chloe Cullen. I kinda like it actually."

"You can shortlist it along with Sequoia and Ruth," laughed Bella as I kissed her temple and closed the book.

"We already discussed this Bella. There's no way I'm having a little baby Ruth."


	20. Kansas City, MO to Memphis, TN

**A/N: See look, I'm trying to get back on track with this one. LOL. Two updates in one week. How dare I?**

**In an effort to stop the confusion, please note that you didn't miss anything after Chapter 17. I purposefully left whether or not E &B got married unknown. This will be revealed later. I promise.**

**Anyways, here's the story of a lovely lady who was pregnant with a peanut of her own… feel free to finish my Brady Bunch theme song on your own time.**

**Thanks to MaggieMay14 for beta'ing this bad boy so quickly and for encouraging me when I want to simply stop the damn thing.**

**I don't own twilight, but I should at least do some real paying work today as I fight off the cold I'm suffering through.**

**BPOV**

The next morning, before we checked out of our room, we decided to head on over to St. Louis for the night. I booked us a room at the Sheraton downtown and did a little research on Edward's laptop about things to in the city. It was only a four hour drive from Kansas City, so we ended up getting there just before lunch.

Instead of checking in to our room for the night, Edward took us straight to the Loop, a large district with shopping, restaurants and art galleries, where we immediately went to find something to eat. We had a small breakfast at the hotel in KC but I was suddenly extremely hungry for lunch. We ended up at a restaurant called Blueberry Hill, where we both enjoyed some of the best hamburgers we had ever had in our entire life. Just as we were getting ready to leave and explore some of the other stores on the Loop, my phone rang. Rosalie.

"Hello?" I said simply as I heard a horn honking in the background and Rosalie toss out a few curse words. "Are you driving?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way to a bridal salon in Brooklyn," she explained with a sigh as I heard another honk. I was immediately envisioning Rosalie on the streets of Manhattan flipping her middle finger to anyone within her fifty feet of her little red beemer.

"Why are you going to another bridal salon? I thought you had the dress picked out," I asked curiously as Edward paid the bill for our lunch and we started to walk down the nearby street, his hand fitting effortlessly into mine.

"What if it's not the one Bella?"

"It's the one Rosalie. You mentioned to me every single thing you wanted in a dress and you found it in the one you picked. Have faith in your decision hon," I said supportively as Edward pulled me into a small art gallery and we began looking around at some of the work done by local artists.

As we walked around, I listened intently to Rosalie's concerns about the wedding, which was now only five months away, although she acted like it was tomorrow. I actually wasn't overly excited to deal with her first hand when we got back to New York in two weeks. "Rosie, how about when Edward and I get home in two weeks, we go out with Alice and the other bridesmaids and work through the list of things you need done and discuss how we can help you?" I suggested cheerfully.

"Two weeks? I thought you were home sooner because you had an appointment on the 3rd?"

"It's been postponed till the twelfth, so Edward and I are going to continue traveling. Two weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things," I said calmly as Rosalie started to rant about how much stuff she needed to get done and how little time she had left. "Why aren't you hiring a wedding planner if you are so overwhelmed?"

"I have one in Boston, I just thought I could try to get as much done myself. Then again, I thought you and Alice would be around to help me," she said snidely as I had the sudden urge to hang up on her.

"Listen here bridezilla. You might be used to having everything handed to you on a silver platter and everyone drop everything they are doing to help you, but you are being ridiculous. The day after you get married, no one will give a shit about what color your linens were or if your cake had buttercream frosting on it. People will only care that you are happy with Emmett, so stop fucking stressing. Now, you will apologize for implying that we're not allowed to live our own lives," I explained sternly as I looked over at Edward who was a few feet away, listening in and clapping.

"I'm sorry, it's just hard doing this on my own Bella," she stated as I groaned at her self pity.

"That's something that is all of your doing. I can't be there, Alice is busy with class and who knows what your cousins are doing, but your mother can help, so can your wedding planner. You pay her good money to help you with this shit Rosalie, use it."

"You're right," she said glumly.

"I know I'm right. By the way Rosalie, I'm fine, thank you for asking. The baby is growing nicely and my morning sickness has gone away," I said angrily as Edward pulled me out of the shop because I was now making a scene. "Thanks for being concerned for me Rosalie."

"I'm sorry Bella; I've just been so caught up in all this stuff… I never meant to alienate you," she said as she sounded remorseful and I suddenly felt bad for being a bitch to her.

"Listen Rosalie, I know you are busy, but our lives don't stop because you are getting married in December. Can you please cool your heels until I get back into town? Then we can focus on the wedding, alright?" I asked genuinely as I heard her honk the horn again and curse at the traffic.

"Okay Bells, but I'm still going to the bridal salon," she said fiercely as I shook my head at her words.

"Fine, go. Don't buy anything."

After I hung up from our call, Edward guided me towards Ben & Jerry's knowing damn well what would calm me down after her call. He ordered for both of us, Mission to Marzipan for me and Chubby Hubby for him, and then we headed across the street to a small park and ate quietly on a hard wooden bench, my feet now resting in his lap.

"So, you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked as I watched him as he put his spoonful of ice cream into his mouth and suck on it greedily. I was suddenly bombarded with visions of him sucking on other things and tried to shake the image from my mind before I ravished him on a public park bench.

"Rosalie has been a selfish bitch lately and I was tired of taking her crap," I said with a small groan. "I know I shouldn't have gone off on her the way I did, but I'm kinda tired of her ignoring the fact that we have our own life and are expecting a child. Even though she apologized, I know when we get back to New York, she's gonna expect me to drop things that we need to do in order to help her with this stupid wedding. I wish her and Emmett would just elope."

"You good now?" Edward asked with a laugh as he put his ice cream down on the bench and started to rub my sore feet, after removing my shoes.

"Yup. Crazy bitch rant over," I said with a grin.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and she will have planned everything before we get back into the city," said Edward calmly as I shook my head in the negative.

"She'll just have new things to torture me with like how to make sure every single flower vase is identical, down to the position of the flowers. She might also need to me to make sure the aisle runner is perfectly straight before she goes down the aisle," I said with a sarcastic laugh, all the while praying to god that she didn't think of these or other equally stupid tasks for me to do. "Your brother is glutton for punishment."

"He knows what he's getting into baby," said Edward with a groan as he leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips, melting away all my tension. "Speaking of getting into things, are you gonna finish that ice cream?"

The rest of our night in St. Louis was a lot tamer than Hurricane Rosalie. We continued to wander through the stores, Edward bought himself a new pair of jeans and I grabbed a pair of Dior Sunglasses that were dirt cheap in some consignment shop. We picked up some dinner to go and then head back to check into our hotel room where we both passed out just after eight o'clock at night, curled up in a ball together with me falling asleep as I tried to read about Week 12 of the pregnancy, which would start in two days.

After showering together in the morning, we quickly got on the road towards Memphis, which was a four and a half hour drive. Edward had made our hotel arrangements at the hotel the night before in St. Louis, and of course, they were extravagant. We were staying at the Peabody, which was famous for the ducks that march into the fountain in the lobby twice daily, and our room was perfect. A large shower and tub awaited us in the bathroom, and the bed was enormous. Once we had gotten completely settled in the hotel, we decided to go and take a tour around Beale Street.

Edward's face was alit with excitement as we walked around, checking out some music stores and small clubs that filled the streets. We had dinner at a small Irish pub before I determined that I was way too tired to stay around for some of the bands that were playing. I knew Edward was disappointed, so I decided that we would play it cool tomorrow morning and enjoy ourselves later in the night. We still had two more days in Memphis to enjoy ourselves.

"We are seriously doing nothing today?" asked Edward as he rolled over in bed and propped his head on his hand, staring down at my face, is eyes brimming with love.

"I want us to go out tonight and I'll never be able to handle a late night if we spend the entire day walking about Memphis," I said honestly as he nodded his head at me. "Plus, I wanted to show you something I noticed the other day."

"Please tell me it's some freaky position you can get into when I fuck you senseless in a few minutes?" he said with a huge smirk as I smacked him lightly upside of his head.

"No."

"Oh, well. What is it then?" asked Edward, his interest now piqued as I pulled the covers down from the bed and lifted up my tank top slightly.

"I'm showing a bit," I said as I took his hand and moved it gently along my stomach to show him that my belly was no long taught and flat.

"Holy shit," he said with a wide grin as he leaned forward and kissed my stomach tenderly. "I thought you didn't show until later in your pregnancy. I mean, we're only three months along, right?"

I cuddled up beside him, his hand now stroking my hair as I laid my head on his chest. "It's different for everyone babe. I noticed it at Victoria's Secret and wondered if you had noticed it too." I knew Edward had been staring at me differently the entire time we were in the store, but he never mentioned anything.

"Honestly… I was staring at your breasts the whole time," he said with a laugh as he kissed my temple.

"Well that explains it then," I replied as I moved my hand along my stomach and suddenly felt his overlap mine. "I mean, I have been nervous about the whole thing ya know? But now, seeing my tummy getting bigger and totally realizing that the peanut is in there and he or she is healthy and growing, makes me so excited about everything."

"I love you," said Edward sweetly as I leaned in and kissed him full on the lips, my hands trailing gently through his hair. As we fit perfectly together and made love for what seemed like an eternity, our hands were always touching, whether it was on my stomach, above my head or joined together as we rubbed my clit, we were together, as one.

**EPOV**

I never thought I would be as affected as I was when I saw Bella was showing. Sure, it was just a little bit of a bump, but a bump nonetheless. After we made love that morning and we were awaiting room service to be brought up to us, I simply sat there, my hand on her stomach and listened to her read from her book.

"Did you know that they say around twelve weeks you can hear the baby's heartbeat?" she asked me as I laid my head on her stomach, pressing my ear against her.

"Nope, no luck."

"Nice try genius," she said sarcastically as she scowled at me. "It also says that the baby is probably very active in there, but I just can't feel it yet." I smiled genuinely as I thought about feeling the baby kick within her stomach. We enjoyed a quiet breakfast and just before eleven, we went down to the lobby to see the ducks march into the fountain. Bella cheerfully took tons of pictures as they marched along and went into the fountain, giggling incessantly as she watched them waddle along. After lunch we decided to relax by taking a swim in the indoor pool the hotel had.

"I didn't plan this very well," said Bella coolly as she came out of the bathroom clad in a skin tight white bikini, which showed off her sexy little bump.

"What's wrong?"

"Pregnant and in a bikini?" she said, sounding somewhat frustrated.

"You look gorgeous baby. Anyways, it's not like you should care what other people think. I think you look stunning, so let's go relax alright?" I asked as she grabbed a towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around herself protectively. I was tempted to pull it away from her as we walked down the hallway and towards the elevator, but if it made her happy, who was I to deny her?

There was no one else around when we got to the pool level, so we simply dropped our stuff in the first chair we could find and waded into the water. We floated casually in the water for a little bit, simply enjoying the quiet. When I had enough with just swimming, I moved Bella against the wall of the deep end and slipped my finger between her legs, rubbing gently over the fabric of her swimsuit.

"Edward, someone could see us," she said breathlessly as I pressed harder against her and began moving faster.

"Isn't that half of the fun Bella?" I said slyly as I raised my eye brow to challenge her. Instead of saying anything else though, her lips attached to the side of my neck and she moved one hand down, gripped mine and moved it under the fabric.

"Well, if you're going to do it, you might as well do it thoroughly Edward," sighed Bella as she tossed her head back and I started rubbing slow circles around her clit. She groaned and laid her head against my shoulder as I swam us closer to the shallow end. My legs were a little sore from treading water and if I was going to make my girl come, I wanted to enjoy it, not suffer in silence.

Just as I was standing and I had Bella pressed back up against the tile, a family of six came running into the room. Four small children, all under the age of eight, simply jumped into the pool, not even caring that there were people in it.

"I'm sorry about that man, I hope they didn't disturb you," said the forty-something father who was balding. He looked frazzled as his daughter ran over and insisted he slip her water wings on, which he did cheerfully before she ran away and jumped into the pool, splashing both of us.

"No worries, we were just getting out anyways," I said with a groan of disappointment as I moved my fingers from Bella and she sighed from the loss of contact. We retreated back to our room before I was able to drown all the kids who interrupted us and then decided to get ready to go out for dinner.

We showered separately and took our time to look nice, seeing as we were going to stay out a bit later and do a bit of dancing. When we were finally ready to go Bella looked stunning in a white flowing sundress, with a black sweater loose over her shoulders and a pair of black flats. You couldn't tell she was pregnant in the dress, which I think was the look she was going for.

"So, where are we going tonight?" I asked curiously as Bella gripped my hand and we walked down to Beale Street. We had an awesome dinner at a place called Rum Boogie where we shared a full slab of BBQ ribs that were simply fantastic. I enjoyed them so much I had to text Emmett and rub it in that I had the best ribs ever. He immediately texted back a frowny face, so I knew he was pissed and envious.

After dinner, we worked our way down Beale until we found a bar that was playing live music and we headed inside. "If you want a beer or two, I won't be mad tonight," shouted Bella into my ear as we got comfortable at a small table in the loud club. I nodded my head and when I didn't see any waitress coming over to our table, I headed up to the bar.

"Can I get something for you?" asked the bartender, who had long wavy red hair and dark brown eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that I hardly noticed women other than Bella, she would have been slightly attractive.

"A bottle of Stella," I said simply as I turned back around to see Bella leaning back in her chair enjoying the music from the live band. "Are they the house band?" I asked of the bartender as she came back with my beer and I handed her a five dollar bill, leaving the change as a tip.

"Yeah. They're pretty decent. On the weekends we get bigger names in to fill the stage, but during the week Tommy and his band rock the joint," she said sweetly as she leaned over the bar and looked at me curiously. "I'm guessing you're not from around here huh? I would have noticed you before."

"Nah, I live in New York. I'm just passing through on my way back home," I said as I took a sip of my beer and watched the band playing. The guy who was on piano wasn't half bad, probably self taught, but he was pretty good. "Who's the guy on piano?"

"That's Mick… he's been known to cause a little trouble around these parts," she said smoothly as I looked back at her and noticed she was glaring at me through her eyelashes.

"Define trouble?" I asked with a laugh.

"Trouble with the ladies, in fact, he seems to have taken a shine to the brunette on the left over there," she said as she pointed to the table where Bella was sitting. I looked at Mick again, and sure enough, he was staring right at her as he played. "He can't seem to keep his hands to himself. Not that they complain about it."

"Oh well… good for Mick. He won't have much luck with that one though." I said with a slight laugh. "Thanks for the info on the band."

"I'm Lily, by the way," she said as she extended her hand the moment I turned to leave.

"Edward," I replied as I shook her hand sweetly and she held onto it a little tighter than I would have liked, her thumb rubbing against the back of my hand awkwardly.

"If you need anything, and I do mean_ anything_ Edward_, _don't hesitate to come and see me," she said trying to sound seductive as I thanked her again for the beer and headed back to our table. Bella was still watching the band intently when I sat back down and I simply pulled my chair right beside her and draped my arm over her shoulder, content to enjoy the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, the fates had other ideas for me. The rest of the night, we didn't have a single waitress come to our table, even though I saw them around the club serving other patrons. I kept having to go up to either get a water for Bella or a beer for myself and every single time I approached the bar, Lily was eager to serve and flirt with me.

After I went to the bar for the fourth time, I was getting pretty frustrated with the entire situation. I handed Bella her glass of water and she took it from me gratefully. "What's this?" she asked after she had her sip of water and went to put her glass back on the table.

"It's water. It comes from oceans, lakes, rivers and the sky. What did you think it was?" I asked with a lame smile as I nudged her shoulder playfully.

"I meant this," she said as she held up the napkin that had been sitting under her drink and sure enough it said 'Lily' and there was a phone number and a little heart. _Fuck my life._

I ran my hands across my face and through my hands as Bella looked at me in disappointment. "I can promise you I didn't ask for it. She's the bartender and we talked when I went up for my first beer," I said casually as Bella didn't exactly look placated by my information. "We talked about the band. I promise. You can't even think I would look at another woman, could you?"

Without a moment's notice, Bella had grabbed her purse off of the table and was walking out of the club, tears starting to pour from her eyes. As we walked past the bar, she gave the middle finger to the redheaded bartender who didn't look a bit remorseful for the shit she had caused. Once we were out of the bar and Bella was practically jogging down the street to the hotel, I ran up to her and grasped her arm, forcing her to turn around.

"Do you honestly think I want someone else?" I yelled at her as I raised my hands into the air in frustration.

"Why not? I'm obviously looking like shit. What will you do when I'm like eight months pregnant and I can't even tie my own shoes, let alone fuck you?" she asked angrily as I pulled her down a small, narrow alleyway and away from all the people wandering around Beale Street.

"I don't want anyone other than you Bella. Even eight months pregnant and unable to see your feet, you will still be the sexiest woman in the world to me," I said with a groan as I moved forward towards her, her back now flush against the darkened brick wall. There was a large crash of lightening overhead before rain started to fall slowly around us. "Even pregnant, you are the most desirable woman to me."

I didn't give Bella a chance to respond before I wrapped my hand behind her head and pulled her in for a kiss, our lips burning with intensity as my tongue moved along her bottom lip before she allowed me access. As I moved my hand along the back of Bella's thighs and under her skirt, she pulled away from my lips, leaving me wanting more.

"But…" she began to say before I lifted my hand to her lips to silence her.

"There are no buts. There is you and me and eventually baby will make three, that's it," I said as I leaned down and kissed her neck, sucking her skin as hard as I could while I felt her hands run along my back, digging into the damp shirt that was now clinging to me.

"I can't help it," she mumbled before my lips found purchase against hers again and I was suddenly pulling her skirt up to her waist and grabbing her ass to lift her up.

"You are everything I want Bella, never doubt that, please," I begged her as she wrapped her legs around me and I ground my cock into her covered pussy. I reached up to her hip and ripped the thin fabric of her panties from her body, repeating it on the other side before dropping them onto the ground.

"Oh fuck," she growled as I moved us a bit further into the alley and away from the prying eyes of the citizens of Memphis. The warm rain continued to fall, continuing to get heavier as I felt Bella fumble for my belt and then the buttons of my fly. Once she had access to me, I didn't hesitate in moving my pants down enough so that I could release my cock and simply thrust into her, which I did greedily.

"Bella, look at me," I implored as I held onto her ass while I pounded into her repeatedly, her soft moans filling the darkness of the alley around us. "I would _never_ want anyone else." She nodded her head before finally leaning her forehead against my shoulder. I felt one of her hands snake between our bodies as I bent my knees slightly in an effort to thrust into her harder as my orgasm approached.

"No one else," she muttered as I felt her rubbing her clit.

"Only you," I replied as I rubbed her hip where her tattoo lay. Even four years later, it still turned me on more than anything else to see it. Bella had taken to kissing mine whenever she got the chance, which lately had been few and far between.

"Oh… ugh… fuck yes," she growled as I felt her tense around my cock, milking me for all I was worth as I came inside of her. I gingerly put her back on the ground and pulled her skirt down, flattening it against her thighs.

"Don't for one second ever think that I would want to do that with anyone but you baby," I said with a grin as I finished putting my cock back in my pants and buttoned them up. I wiped my hands quickly on my jeans, the rain still pouring around us as I grabbed her hand in mine.

"Only you Edward," she said with a sigh as we started running back to our hotel in the rain.

**A/N: We're going to fast forward a bit on their journey next chapter, but if any of you live in the Carolinas and want to give me things to do, that don't involve hitting the NASCAR shops outside of Charlotte (my dream to do, not theirs) that would totally rock! LOL I twitter… come find us and join the fun, coldplaywhore. **

**Quick Rec's… Bare by Stella Luna Sky, Reality Minus Expectations by mjinaspen and Illegal Contact, the new story by one of my gals on Twitter, GreenEyedGirl17.**


	21. Memphis, TN to Hilton Head Island, SC

**A/N: Thanks for your patience with this story. I've wanted to finish Love Will Come Through, which is just missing an epilogue, and then I will be updating this on a more frequent basis. Thanks to everyone who still reads it. I love all of you!**

**Huge hugs to my girl MaggieMay14 whose advice really made this chapter a lot better. For a reference, I have been to Graceland but it was 16 years ago, so if my references are off, whoopdy doo! **

**I don't own twilight, but I have been watching the same 'Little Einstein's' ALL FRIGGIN DAY!**

**EPOV**

The next morning I was practically bursting out of my skin as I waited for Bella to finish up showering at the hotel. Today we were going to Graceland and even though I wasn't a huge Elvis Presley fan, you can't go to Memphis without visiting the place. That's just sacrilegious. "Come on Bella. You've been in there for like an hour," I said impatiently as I suddenly began clearing away all of our dishes from breakfast even though housekeeping could have done it for us.

"Are you cleaning our hotel room?" she asked when she finally emerged a few minutes later and found me making the bed.

"I was bored out of my fucking mind," I said as I finished the task at hand and she just rolled her eyes at me. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing. It's all good," she said as she grabbed her purse off the table and tossed me the keys to the Yukon. She opened the door to our hotel room and I followed her as we headed down to the lobby, where we waited for the valet to pull the SUV around.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" I asked curiously. Bella had been oddly quiet since she got out of the bathroom and my paranoia was beginning to get the better of me. "Is it the baby?"

"No, it's not the baby. I guess… breakfast just didn't agree with me or something," she said shyly as I rested my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. I wasn't about to embarrass her any further, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut. The last thing I needed was a grumpy Bella to fuck up my Graceland experience.

We ended up getting to Graceland just after ten in the morning and it was drastically different than I thought it would be. On one side of the road sat Graceland, the epic mansion buried back from the road a little bit with a long driveway leading towards it. On the opposite side of Elvis Presley Boulevard was everything else; the gift shops, the memorabilia, Heartbreak Hotel and RV Park. It was classic!

We parked the SUV and paid our fees before hopping on a small shuttle bus that took us to the actual mansion for the tour. Bella and I stayed close to our tour group and listened intently as our guide started to tell us various things about the mansion before we walked in, like how we can't go upstairs and how certain rooms are considered out of bounds because the family still frequents them.

"That is a monstrosity," laughed Bella when we walked in the front door and were shown into his formal living room, which had a super long white couch in it. Two elderly ladies who were standing in front of Bella turned around and looked at her angrily for saying anything bad about the couch and interrupting the tour guide.

"Ils sont incroyablement impolis," one of the ladies muttered in what I knew was French. I held back my urge to respond to them for calling us rude, but it had been a while since I had to use any foreign language and I knew it wouldn't come out sounding the way I thought it in my head.

"I bet he loved to fuck on that thing," I whispered to her as I ignored the women and Bella slapped me on the shoulder playfully. She reached for the digital camera to take a few pictures, but we were quickly reminded by our guide that we could not use any flash while taking photos throughout the house. "I bet it rarely got cleaned too."

"Ewww," muttered Bella as the women stared at us again. I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at Bella shamelessly, blaming her for the interruption, as the ladies moved away from us and I hugged Bella close to me.

We continued moving around the house, visiting the 'rumpus room' which had three TVs mounted into a wall. Sure it was fancy back in 1977, but today it looked really outdated. I think the TV's were like 19 inchers too, which made the entire thing just sad. The blue and yellow color scheme didn't help matters either. "I think my grandparents had a family room like this," I said with a laugh as we continued to walk along the tour.

"Seriously? I thought your family had better taste than this. I know Elvis is an icon and all but I think his interior decorator was blind as a bat," snickered Bella cheerfully.

"Yeah. I'm serious. Next time we're back in Boston we'll have to look through some old family photos," I suggested as Bella raised her eye brow in curiosity.

"I've been with you for four years and I finally get to see old family photos? I am so lucky," she giggled as I wrapped my arm around her neck and kissed her temple softly.

"You only get to see the family photos because there is a ring on your finger. This is why you never saw them before," I said mock seriousness as Bella looked at me curiously. "We don't go showing naked pictures of the Cullen kids to just anyone you know."

"Good to know baby," she said as she grabbed my hand in hers and we left the hideous TV room and headed with the tour towards another part of the house.

I had to admit that even though everyone always spoke so highly of Graceland, in the grand scheme of things the house wasn't that big. Sure it was daunting just because it had been Elvis's house, but my parents place outside of Boston was actually larger in size. Even the grounds at the Cullen Estate were larger than here at Graceland.

"We should decorate the nursery like this," laughed Bella when we came upon the jungle room. We weren't allowed to go in as it was roped off, but Bella leaned in and took a few photos as we walked on past. "Every infant needs a Tiki Bar right?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind having a bar in our new place, but I don't think the peanut's room is appropriate," I said with a laugh as Bella snapped a few more photos and we stayed close to the tour.

"I hate animal print though, so it's kind of a moot point," she added with smile.

"Okay, no animal print or Tiki bars in the nursery. Hell, we've almost got it all planned out."

Soon after, we found ourselves following a pathway outside that led to Elvis's grave which was in the garden. There were flowers and teddy bears all around the headstone that was mounted into the grass and an eternal flame sat directly behind it, but in front of a large fountain. "It's kinda morbid," I mentioned to Bella as we walked past, because I didn't know he was actually buried here. Other members of his family were also buried beside him also adding to the creepy factor.

"I agree, but don't you think the grave of the suspected vampire was morbid? Where's the gift shop anyways?" said Bella as the older women gawked at us again.

"Ils doivent être silencieux," said the first woman who had also commented about us back in the mansion. Apparently she was a little pissed that we were talking while we walked around.

"Il est très attrayant bien que," said the second woman as I blushed slightly when she called me attractive. Fricking elderly French ladies.

Bella was starting to get testy and I was wondering if she was taking so long to respond to them because she was trying to remember her insults in French. "I'm sorry if we weren't alive when Elvis was popular, but we are allowed to enjoy Graceland any way we want. If that means laughing about his oversized couch and the nasty lamps that hang in his jungle room, so be it. Fermez votre trou de tourte," she finished. I wanted to clap at Bella's speech, but the women just huffed and walked away.

"I don't think they understood you, but I liked your speech. They've been giving everyone the evil eye the whole tour," laughed the tour guide who then led us back around the front of the mansion and onto the bus. The guide informed us that we could now feel free to explore all the other attractions on the other side of the road, such as 'The Lisa Marie', Elvis's private plane. Bella was pretty excited about this, but seeing as I was raised a spoiled rich kid who had actually flown in private planes, it didn't hold as much interest for me. Of course, I went anyways mainly because I wanted to see Bella's reaction to what I was certain was the world's gaudiest airplane.

When we got over to the area where the plane was parked, the guide let a few of us go inside at a time to check out everything. It was a decent sized plane that they told us was bought from Delta Airlines back in 1975. The floors were covered in emerald green carpeting and all the chairs were made of creepy 70's brown leather, with the exception of Elvis' which was creepy _green_ leather. "It looks like the seventies threw up in here," laughed Bella as we took a quick look around.

"Yeah, it's a bit fugly, but I'm sure it was fancy back when Elvis was alive," I said casually as we disembarked the plane. "Could you imagine flying in that thing for any length of time though?"

"Um… no. I think the tackiness of it would make me sicker than the turbulence," Bella said with a laugh as I chuckled at her and helped her down the stairs to the ground when we were finished.

Before moving forward and seeing more sights, Bella and I sat down for a quick lunch at one of the restaurants, enjoying some chicken sandwiches at a fifties style diner. When we finished that, we worked our way through some of the museums and gift shops, even stopping once to watch a little movie they had playing. Bella loved checking out the old performance suits that Elvis used to wear and was continuously laughing at the sheer number of sequins on each and everyone one of them.

We strolled through the gift shops last and bought a whole bunch of tacky knick knacks for our friends and family. Bella bought a hideous clock that was shaped like Elvis and had swiveling hip action that moved every second for her mother. I was just pleased that I wouldn't be forced to watch this thing in our own home on a daily basis.

We did splurge on one thing though, a teeny tiny Elvis costume for the baby. It even came with a little wig and side burns, which we thought would be especially hilarious come next Halloween when the peanut was about 8 months old. I also grabbed a bib set that said 'All Shook Up' and featured a cute rattle on it. Bella had rolled her eyes when I picked this up, but I thought it was adorable. Perhaps Bella's pregnancy was turning me into a girl since I was more into shopping than she was.

As we were about to leave the gift shop, my cell phone started ringing so I asked Bella to pay for everything as I handed her my credit card and then I stepped outside to field the call, which was from Emmett.

"What's happening hot stuff?" he asked when I answered the phone. I quickly ran my hand down my face as I shook my head.

"We're at Graceland dude. Elvis' house is ugly as shit," I admitted honestly as I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, I've seen pictures. Rosie's grandmother is a huge Elvis fan and every year in August she takes a trip there for the anniversary of his death. Now you have something to discuss with her at the wedding reception," chuckled Emmett as I rolled my eyes.

"So, why the hell are you calling?"

"When do you get back into New York?"

"Not for another two weeks. Bella and I have our ultrasound appointment on the twelfth, so I think we are looking to get back on the tenth. Why, what's going on?" I asked curiously. I had only heard from Emmett on very rare occasions while we were away and he usually called because Rosalie had been in the background screaming something about the wedding. I felt a little disconcerted this time around because I heard no screaming.

"So, while you have been gone, Rosalie has been a bit umm… psychotic. She needs another vacation and I was thinking of taking her down to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina for a few days of rest and relaxation and NO wedding shit," said Emmett stoically. I could sense in his voice that he was worried about just how stressed Rosalie was getting with the preparations. I'm guessing she didn't take Bella's advice to utilize her wedding planner. "Anyways, I was wondering if you guys would be in that neck of the woods next weekend, maybe you wanted to join us."

I looked towards Bella who was at the cashier in the gift shop finally paying for everything and I figured a weekend with our friends might be good for her. "Count us in. Let me know where and when," I said happily as I watched Bella wander out of the store with two huge bags. What the fuck had she bought when I was out here?

"Okay bro. Text me the specifics and we will see you in a few days," I said covertly. I wanted to surprise Bella with some time with our friends, so when she asked me who was on the phone, I lied and told her it was my father wanting to know how things were going. She quirked an eye brow at me, knowing full well we hadn't heard from my dad since we left Forks, but it was the best lie I could come up with on such short notice. "Let's get out of here."

**BPOV**

The next week was filled with all sorts of madness. After we left Memphis, Edward and I drove up to Nashville for two nights, staying at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which for the record was the stupidest name for a hotel yet. The Gaylord… what the fuck? We spent part of the day touring around Nashville and even went to the Ryman Auditorium where they used to hold the Grand Old Opry. It has since moved to the Grand Old Opry house, conveniently located beside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Since neither of us was big into country music, the entire town didn't hold much interest for us, but we did score tickets to a Riverboat cruise which featured a dinner and a show, so that was interesting.

After Nashville, we headed south along Interstate 65 to Birmingham, Alabama. While we only spent one night there, we did end up going to see the Birmingham Museum of Art, which was surprisingly great for such a small city. Upon leaving Birmingham, we spent four fun filled days in Atlanta, Georgia. My favorite stop while we were in Atlanta was the Margaret Mitchell house, author of Gone with the Wind, and I had to laugh because it bored the hell out of Edward.

One night we went to the Chastain Park Amphitheatre where the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was performing and sat out under the stars, enjoying both dinner and the music that filled the air. Edward and I spent a little of our time making out, but since the music was actually very good, he wanted to pay attention almost as much as he wanted to shove his tongue down my throat.

We spent half a day at the High Museum of Art and I still didn't feel like it was enough to truly see everything the museum had to offer. There was a traveling exhibit from the Louvre as well as an exhibit on Monet's Water Lilies that I spent hours enjoying before Edward had to drag me out, reminding me we had plans later in the day.

Edward, in his infinite wisdom, had signed us up to take a tour of CNN, which was based in Atlanta. I think I giggled incessantly when I noticed Wolf Blitzer in one of the hallways, but otherwise I was fairly well behaved. Shortly after that, we wandered the downtown streets where it was Restaurant Week in Atlanta and we ended up having a wonderful dinner at a small cafe.

On our final morning, we stopped by the Georgia Aquarium for a few hours before Edward ushered me out of the place insisting we had somewhere we had to be by seven o'clock at the latest. This of course, was news to me. We were half way to Macon, Georgia before I got concerned. "Where the hell are we going?"

"Can't you just sit back and enjoy the ride?" asked Edward as he glanced over at me for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

"When have I ever just enjoyed things? Did you just meet me? I stress and worry. You have hardly made a single plan when it came to our travels and now suddenly you want me to trust you as you drive us god knows where?" I asked, slightly frustrated at my lack of knowledge regarding this particular destination.

On a regular day, I wouldn't care but thanks to this damned pregnancy my emotions seemed to be getting the better of me more often than not. I didn't want to tell Edward the truth, but the morning we left for Graceland I was stuck in the bathroom because I couldn't stop crying. There was no reason behind it, but I couldn't seem to make the constant stream of tears go away. I knew if I told Edward the truth he would immediately think something was wrong. As expected though, he gave up questioning me when I told him it was just a case of indigestion.

"I didn't plan this either," Edward admitted as I put down the iPod I was holding and turned towards him, my eyes sort of bugging out of my head.

"Who planned it?"

"Emmett."

"Oh Jesus fuck, where the fuck are we going? It's a taxidermy museum right? We're spending the night in a gigantic dog house or something equally asinine, aren't we?" I was suddenly completely petrified when he mentioned that wherever we were going and whatever we were doing was planned by Emmett. I didn't know what would be worse, having Emmett or Jasper do it. "Are there two story outhouses involved?"

"No," laughed Edward as he grabbed the iPod from me and quickly put on 'Homecoming' by Kanye West and Chris Martin. He was singing along, blissfully unaware of my overwhelming urge to freak out about the unknown. Why couldn't I just enjoy everything without overthinking?

"We're not going to Button and Zipper museum are we?" I asked fifteen minutes later as Edward broke out into raucous laughter.

"Where do you come up with this shit?" questioned Edward as he continued to laugh at my rambling questions.

"I have all the time in the world sitting here beside you. My mind is running a mile a minute right now," I admitted easily as Edward's hand moved from the steering wheel to grip my thigh. He moved his hand slowly up and down my leg soothingly as he kept his eye on the road.

"We're going to Hilton Head Island. We've got a rental there for four days and we are just going to sit back and relax. We don't have to worry about sightseeing or anything like that. Instead we will sit on the beach, sip sweetened iced tea and make sweet love all night. Do you think you can stop stressing now baby?" asked Edward as I reached my hand over to lie on top of his.

"Yes. Thank you for telling me," I said sweetly as he grasped my hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing my palm softly. "You've certainly helped ease my worried mind," I added as I rested my head back against the headrest of the SUV, feeling like a load had been lifted off my shoulders.

I sat in contented silence for the rest of the trip to Hilton Head Island. I would often scan through Edward's iPod and pick out random music like Matt Nathanson or A Day to Remember, singing along as I watched Georgia disappear behind us. We stopped in Savannah to pick up a few items for the beach house rental like some basic food before finally heading on our way. It was just after six at night when we pulled into the driveway of a huge white house.

"Holy fuck. Why did you get one so big? This must have like 4 bedrooms," I said a little awestruck once I had gotten out of the car.

"It has five actually," I heard a familiar voice say and when I turned around there was Rosalie, her face wide with a smile. "Hey stranger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked excitedly as I ran towards her and we hugged happily. "Wait, Emmett planned this right?"

Rosalie and Edward both nodded their heads and then I noticed Emmett's big form wandering down the stairs from the house and across the driveway. He swooped me up into a huge hug, spinning me around for a moment before I had to hit him on the back and make him put me down. After five hours in a car I wasn't feeling the best and I had visions of spewing all over him. "Yes, I planned this. I think we all needed to get away from reality for a little bit."

"Are Jazz and Ali coming?" asked Edward as he slammed the trunk of the SUV closed and Emmett grabbed a few of the bags to bring into the house.

"He couldn't get out of work today but they will be here sometime tomorrow morning," said Rosalie with a grin as she grabbed my hand and led me into the rental.

If I thought it was big from the outside, the inside didn't do it justice. It was tastefully decorated and had a game room with a pool table, a gigantic chef's kitchen and every single bedroom had its own bathroom. The best part in my opinion was the view of the Atlantic from the deck off of the great room. The beach was a few hundred feet in front of us and I couldn't wait to grab a chair and lounge out for a little bit.

"There's even a pool? Who needs a pool when the Atlantic is right there?" I asked dumbfounded as I leaned against the railing of the deck, staring down at the large kidney shaped pool below us. I shivered as I felt Edward snake his arm around my waist, his dick now pressed against my ass.

"People use the heated pool when the ocean is too cold," stated Edward firmly as his lips latched onto my neck and he began kissing me gently. "I hope you don't mind the guests."

"Hell no. This was an awesome surprise baby," I said as I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck, standing on my tip toes to kiss him firmly on the lips. "It will be great to relax for a few days with our friends and family before heading back to the city. As much as I am looking forward to going back for the ultrasound, I'm kinda dreading going back to the real world."

"I know it will be overwhelming since we have so much to do in so little time, but don't worry about it. Stressing is not good for you or the baby," he said casually as his hand moved down between us and he began rubbing my stomach. I was about to whisper something very naughty into Edward's ear as Emmett suddenly appeared on the deck.

"We've got hamburgers and sausages ready to cook on the BBQ. I'm assuming you two are in for dinner?" Edward and I both nodded as we heard Emmett say 'excellent' before disappearing back into the house, coming out a moment later with a bright pink apron on and a plate full of meat.

"Why don't you help your brother cook and I will go find us the most sound proof bedroom and get us settled?"

"Sounds good, find one with a comfy bed," winked Edward as I kissed him on the cheek and headed into the house. Rosalie was nowhere to be found, so I simply made my way around the rental acquainting myself with it before I finally decided to pick the bedroom on the first level. It wasn't super big, but the bed was definitely queen sized and the shower in the bathroom had three different showerheads, so that was a bonus.

When I walked back up to the main level, Rosalie was tossing together a salad and laying out condiments on the counter. "Edward and I are taking the bedroom downstairs," I said happily as I grabbed a slice of cucumber from the cutting board and popped it into my mouth.

"Good choice. Then you two can sneak off swimming in the middle of the night," laughed Rosalie as Edward walked in from the deck, grabbing the plates and cutlery she had set out. He was actually setting the table on the deck and I think my jaw dropped open in surprise. "I'll have Edward and Emmett bring the rest of the luggage downstairs."

I nodded my head easily as I took my small overnight bag from the front door and brought it down the stairs, with Rosalie leading the way. "You look really happy," remarked Rosalie when we landed on the final step and headed down the hallway to the bedroom.

"Yeah well, Edward makes me happy. I'm sure you feel the same way with Emmett," I said in response as she sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me nervously.

"I do. I love Emmett with every single part of me, but this wedding shit is driving me nuts," Rosalie admitted as I sat beside her and wrapped my arm over her shoulder, hugging her to my side. "Seriously, whenever you and Edward get engaged, just run off to Vegas or Atlantic City or something to get married. It's not worth the stress."

Suddenly, everything moved as though in slow motion because Rosalie reached her hand up to pat mine supportively and felt my engagement ring. "Um Bella…" she said slowly as I quirked my eye brow at her for a moment. "Do you need to tell me something?"

"Like what?" I asked curiously. Rosalie was being slightly cryptic and I suddenly had no idea what she was talking about.

"What the fuck is with that HUGE ROCK on your left hand?"

**A/N: Bear in mind these translations were done using one of those crazy ass online translators, so if my French is off, too bad. My own French is rusty. I can order a beer, go to the bathroom and offer up sex, but that's about it. Oh, I can swear too!**

Translation:

_Ils sont incroyablement impolis - They are incredibly rude_

_Ils doivent être silencieux – They need to be quiet_

_Il est très attrayant bien que – He is very attractive though_

_Fermez votre trou de tourte – Shut your pie hole_


	22. Hilton Head Island, SC

**A/N: But not so popular demand by the gang on Twitter, here is the latest update. For those of you reading 'The Resolution' it will be updated within the next twenty four hours, I promise.**

**If you are looking for new story recommendations, I've listed a bunch at the bottom of the chapter. Thanks again to MaggieMay14 for making this chapter so much better. I wasn't exactly happy with it when I sent it her way.**

**I don't own Twilight; I did however spend almost $60 on a Dora the Explorer cake for my kids' birthday next month.**

**BPOV**

"_What the fuck is with that HUGE ROCK on your left hand?" _

"What does it look like?" I asked Rosalie pointedly as I pulled my arm from behind her shoulders and she reached for my left hand, staring intensely at my engagement ring like she was appraising it for cut, color and clarity.

"It looks like an engagement ring. When the fuck did this happen?" she asked, sounding slightly frustrated with me. Shit, had I known she would be this upset about it, I would have mentioned it to her sooner and reveled in the fact that she was angry with me. Serves her right for how she treated me the past few weeks with her infamous wedding tantrums.

"Edward proposed when we were in Forks when Carlisle and Esme came to visit. Our original decision in having them visit my parents place was to tell them about the peanut, but then Edward proposed, I fucked it up, he proposed again and here we are," I said casually as she shook her head at me for a moment. Emmett called down to us from the main floor and let us know that dinner was ready, so I took Rosalie's hand and dragged her up the stairs behind me. "Don't be so shocked. Everyone figured it would happen eventually."

"What would happen eventually?" asked Emmett in confusion as he placed the plate of grilled hamburgers and sausages on the patio table. Edward was walking out from the kitchen holding the bowl of salad that Rosalie had made earlier after we arrived.

"That Edward and I would get engaged," I replied coolly as I held up my hand to show off the ring and Emmett came over and gave me a huge bear hug before patting his younger brother on the back. It was kind of nice to know we had one person who supported us in our venture.

"It's about time little brother," stated Emmett cheerfully. "So, when's the big day?" Edward and I glanced over to each other and smiled brightly before turning back to watch Emmett who was busy putting together a gigantic double-decker hamburger with all the fixings.

"We're going to make arrangements for the wedding after the baby is born," said Edward as he reached over and rubbed my thigh gently in support. Rosalie still hadn't said a word since we walked up from the first floor where our bedroom was. I was about to say something to try and snap her out of her silence when she opened her mouth to speak.

"So let me get this straight… you and Edward have been engaged for almost a month now and you never told anyone?" she asked as she angrily scooped some salad onto her plate, most of it actually landing on either the deck or her lap.

"Well, we told our parents," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Didn't you think it was important to tell your friends? Maybe even update your Facebook status or some shit like that 'Bella's getting married once she pops out a peanut'?"

"You shouldn't be so upset Rosalie. It's not like we are raining on your parade. The wedding of the eon will still go on as planned, with soaps that match your fucking flowers in the god damned bathrooms," I snapped at her momentarily. Edward's grip on my thigh got slightly tighter as he sensed I was tensing up about the issue. "Edward and I agreed to simply enjoy the rest of our road trip and tell you guys when we got home to Manhattan."

"But this is your wedding Bella… you tell your friends and family about this stuff. You gush about it and then you send out save the date cards and have a wedding announcement written up in the New York Post. You're marrying a Cullen for god sakes, why aren't you more excited about this?" questioned Rosalie as I sat back in my chair and took a huge bite of the hamburger I was eating.

"Easy… Edward and I don't give a shit about the wedding. All we want is to be together with our kid and live happily ever after or whatever," I said casually as Rosalie threw up her hands in frustration.

"I don't get you sometimes Bella," she remarked as she took a bite of her salad and Edward draped one of his arms over my shoulder.

"Rosalie, this is a vacation so calm down," I said with a nervous laugh. "Just because you are bouncing off the wall in preparation of marrying your own Cullen doesn't mean I will be. I have bigger fish to fry these days like having an ultrasound, finding somewhere to live where our baby won't sleep in a drawer and getting an actual car that might hold a car seat. The wedding will happen, it will be just what Edward and I want and it will be sometime next year. How about we get through your wedding first before we consider another one, alright?"

I really hoped Rose was talking my advice to heart. During the times we lived together in college I often had to be the voice of reason with her and it took a toll on our friendships sometimes. I'd be lying if I thought the stress of her wedding didn't have a chance to tear us apart. She had been domineering, overbearing and downright bitchy ever since she announced her engagement and though I loved her like a sister, some days I just wanted to strangle her. If I didn't have to worry about giving birth in prison, I might have done it already.

"Okay, no worrying or pressure from me about your wedding. At least not until after the baby is born," stated Rosalie with a small smile. "By the way… congratulations."

"Thanks," said Edward as he kissed my temple and we continued on with our dinner. Emmett and Rosalie told us about life in Manhattan over the summer and Rosalie mentioned how she and Emmett had contacted a real estate agent to help them look for a slightly bigger place. Since they knew we were interested in something larger, they agreed to get her in contact with us when we got back to the city.

After dinner, we sat outside on the deck for a little while, simply enjoying the warm South Carolina night. There was no talk of weddings, babies or careers. We talked about stupid shit like movies, lame ass reality television shows and when we figured Alice and Jasper would get engaged. Edward and Emmett even made a bet with Edward saying it would be before the end of the year and Emmett guessing that Jasper wouldn't get off his ass and pop the question before next summer.

When we ended up heading to bed, Edward and I left the French doors open to the outside and lay in bed comfortably. We could hear the waves crashing on the beach and cuddled up next to each other discussing random things we wanted to do at the beach the next day, the number one idea being building a gigantic sand castle, followed closely by burying Emmett in the sand and giving him a set of sand tits like Joey on Friends.

We were stirred from our comfort by Rosalie screaming at the top of her lungs a little after we decided to fall asleep. _'Oh fuck yes Emmett, give it to me.' _Edward and I giggled for a moment as he quickly climbed out of bed and shut the doors.

"The last thing I need to hear is them getting it on," he said with a laugh as he locked the door and came back into bed. Sleep took us quickly.

The next morning, we woke to the loud footsteps from directly above us. Alice and Jasper had arrived very early in the morning, having taken a flight first thing in the morning and driving up from Savannah, Georgia which was the nearest city to us. Edward and I reluctantly climbed out of bed and went upstairs to greet my close friend and her boyfriend.

"Well hey stranger," called out Alice as she rushed forward and pulled us into a big hug. When she finally let go of us and moved out of the way I gave Jasper a big hug as he looked down at my stomach.

"Is that the peanut already?" he asked a he moved his hand to touch my belly but looked up at me as though to ask if it was alright.

"Yes, and go ahead Jasper, you can touch my stomach," I said with a laugh as he reached his hand down and laid it gently on my small bump. I had taken to wearing oversized clothes so that it didn't seem as obvious, but last night I had tossed on a tank top that was tight before I was pregnant, so it didn't hide anything today.

Emmett and Rosalie came down the stairs moments later looking completely refreshed and happy. I was tempted to call them out about their loud fucking session the night before but decided against it. Rosalie and I had enough issues between us; I didn't need her to be mad at me for being my usual sarcastic and teasing self.

Edward and Emmett insisted on making breakfast for everyone so they used some of the groceries we had picked up in Savannah the day before and cooked up a big brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, toasted and roasted vegetables. We sat out on the patio and started to discuss options for our Friday and Saturday.

"I've got us a tee time at one of the local golf courses on Saturday," commented Emmett as he sat down at the table and everyone began serving themselves. "It's in the middle of the morning and Rosalie thought you girls might enjoy a spa day or something."

"Sounds like a plan," exclaimed Alice happily. "There are also some nice restaurants in town we should visit for dinner too. I think today we should just hang out around the house, lounge out on the beach and do as little as humanly possible." We all agreed to Alice's suggestion cheerfully and once breakfast was done, Edward and I went off to shower as Alice and Jasper took over kitchen duty.

Once I was out of the shower, I tossed on my bikini and paired it with a long sleeved cover up. I wasn't exactly eager to get too much sun now that I was pregnant and I had read in one of my many baby books how it wasn't recommended to lay out in the sun and get a tan. When Edward came out of the bathroom in his swim trunks, his hair was still slightly damp from the shower and he had decided to forgo a shirt. I think I almost came just by looking at him.

"What are you looking at?" he asked with a confused grin as I stalked towards him, my eyes narrowing as I suddenly had his back pressed against the bathroom door.

"I was looking at you," I stated succinctly as my hands gripped the waistband of his swim trunks and I tugged on the small bow he had tied at the waist. I reached one hand inside the confines of his trunks, gripping his now hard cock firmly in my hands as my other hand grasped the back of his head and pulled him down to kiss me.

"Bella…" he tried to say as I yanked his shorts down and they pooled at his ankles. When I pulled my mouth away from him, I raised my hands to his lips to silence him. I grabbed his hand and led him over to the small settee in our room where I pushed him to sit down before I bent forward at the waist and slowly pulled my bikini bottoms off. Edward began to speak again but I straddled his hips and gripped his cock in my hand, slowly guiding it inside of me.

For the next several minutes no words were exchanged between us. Edward and I moved in tandem, his hips thrusting into mine as I accepted his hard cock eagerly inside of me. It was sheer heaven as I felt him push in and out of me, his hands gripped tightly on my hips as he moved within my confines.

"Oh yes, Edward," I moaned out as I felt his finger rubbing my clit and I suddenly yelled out again in ecstasy as my orgasm overtook me. Edward pressed into me a few more times before finally coming deep within me with a loud grunt and several short thrusts.

"What the hell brought that on?" asked Edward as he leaned back against the settee and I laid my head on his bare chest while he remained buried inside of me.

"You looked so hot when you came out of the bathroom, I couldn't help myself," I admitted with a slight giggle.

"Well please… feel free to attack me whenever you feel like it."

**EPOV**

As I pulled my trunks back on and handed Bella her bikini bottoms, I couldn't help the wide smirk that was forming on my face. I was caught completely off guard by Bella pushing me against the door, but who am I to deny my woman sex? I would be insane to refuse her.

When we walked out onto the beach a few minutes later to join my family, they were all very suspicious of us. "Took you guys long enough," said Jasper as he winked at me knowingly.

"Oh yes Edward… it did take you a while," laughed Emmett as he mocked Bella as she was calling out my name in the heat of passion. I stalked towards Emmett and pushed him over a chair till he landed flat on his ass on the sand before I flipped him off and pulled out two chairs for Bella and I. I positioned one large chaise for her beside Alice who was busy talking to Rosalie about her summer classes.

"Shut up dickwad," said Bella in response as she took her seat beside Alice who looked at her in shock once she had finished her conversation.

"So Bella, don't you and my big brother have some news to share?" asked Alice as Bella's eyes widened, unsure of how to respond to Alice's question.

"Umm… yes we just had sex. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Ewww no. I wanted to know why I had to find out from my soon to be sister-in-law that I was about to get another one?" asked Alice as she jumped out of her chair and ran over to Bella's left side to check out her ring. I shook my head as Alice went into the same rant as Rosalie the night before for not announcing it sooner, but I just got comfortable in my own chair and lay out as I watched Emmett and Jasper build a monster sand castle. Bella then went into every single detail about my botched proposal since she hadn't told Rosalie the details either. I listened for a few moments as Alice then began to rant about wedding locations before I closed my eyes and tried to take a quick nap. There was a cool breeze blowing across the beach that made it easy for me to fall asleep as Alice yammered away about everything related to weddings.

"When Alice gets married, she'll be worse than Rosalie," laughed Emmett as he strolled by my chair to go find a garbage can in the house to help build his sand castle.

A little while later, after I managed an hour long nap, I woke up to Bella tickling my face with a feather, which then made me sneeze as she put it under my nose. "Everyone went into the house to start working on lunch. Did you want to go for a swim?"

"Sure," I said as I reached my hands up and rubbed my eyes with my palms. I watched for a moment from my chair as Bella peeled off her cover up and walked slowly into the water. The waves of the water were almost up to her waist when I finally climbed off of the chair and went to join her. The water was fairly cool, but against the hot South Carolina air, it felt really good. "Does this remind you of anything?"

"Umm… swimming?" said Bella with a laugh as I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her body flush against my chest.

"Copenhagen?"

"Well, the waves weren't as high in Copenhagen and you were ten times more jealous," said Bella as she threw her head back in gentle laughter. "Plus, there was all the feeling me up in the water in Copenhagen that you aren't doing now."

I smirked at Bella's forwardness and bent my face into the crook of her neck as I kissed her tenderly. "I can fix that you know," I said with a groan as I slipped my hand down the front of her bikini bottoms. I felt Bella's hand slide down over top of mine and I was excited about the prospect of her helping me along as I attempted to bring forth her release, but instead she grabbed my hand firmly and pulled it out of her bathing suit. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Look in front of you." I reluctantly glanced up to the house, where I saw Emmett and Jasper leaning against the railing waving wildly and smiling brightly at us. "That is why you aren't finger fucking me right now. I can't exactly handle them knowing twice in one day that we were getting busy."

"Fine," I said in mock frustration as I splashed some water to Bella who began to retaliate. "I'll just have to leave the French doors open tonight when I fuck you in our bedroom then." I glanced over at Bella smugly when she stopped upon hearing my words. The moment I caught her off guard, I splashed more water on her. We played in the water for the next half an hour, with me tossing her around every so often and only ended up leaving because Emmett bellowed down to us that lunch was ready.

"You do realize we are on dinner duty today right?" Bella said as I helped her out of the water and we both wrapped towels around ourselves.

"That's fine. I saw a flyer for a pizza place that delivered."

After lunch, Bella and I had a quick shower and then she decided to take a quick nap down in our bedroom as I went up to spend some time with Emmett and Jasper. It was starting to get cloudy and the weather report was calling for rain, so we hunkered down in the living room and turned on ESPN to catch the Red Sox play the Toronto Blue Jays. Emmett was talking about random stats as I came in with three beers and passed them around.

"Where's Bella?" asked Jasper as he raised his eye brow curiously. It seemed Rosalie and Alice were sitting in the kitchen discussing Alice's internship with some up and coming designer while also making themselves a large pitcher of Mojitos.

"She's taking nap. After lunch she was complaining about heart burn so she popped a few Tums and decided to take a rest. She fell asleep about five minutes later," I said casually as Jasper elbowed me in the side and I turned to face him.

"So… are you really okay with the whole baby thing? I know we haven't discussed it since Chicago, but you seem okay," he asked curiously as I noticed Emmett looking over and nodding his head. Apparently he was also curious about how I was coping with the pregnancy.

"It's fine, really. Sure, it's a little earlier than we had even considered but I'm not worried about it. When Bella eventually gives birth though I might be a bit of a basket case. I worry now about taking care of her, how the hell will I take care of her and a baby?" I asked as Jasper shrugged his shoulders. Unfortunately for me, the people who were closest to me didn't have kids and weren't really the best source of advice in this situation. "I should ask dad."

"That's a great idea. Ask the guy who wasn't around for the first twenty years of our life," said Emmett with a snicker as he took a big gulp of his beer and then yelled at the screen when David Ortiz was struck out in the third inning. "Fucking team went to shit after they won the World Series."

"At least Dad has kids, he's probably a better person to ask that you too morons," I said as Alice strolled in carrying a glass and offering us a sample of her Mojito. I reluctantly took a sip and swallowed it down tentatively. "That is gross. Where the fuck did you get the recipe? Is there Drano in there?"

"Fuck you Edward," complained Alice as she handed the glass to Jasper who wasn't planning to touch it with a ten foot pole. "It's not that bad. We followed the recipe to the letter. Spiced Rum, mint leaves, sugar, Lime Kool-Aid and Sprite."

"Alice, a Mojito doesn't have any Kool-Aid or Sprite. It has soda and lime juice. There's a difference," laughed Jasper as he handed the glass back to her without taking a sip.

"Sprite is a soda," she snapped defiantly.

"No… Sprite is a soft drink. Soda is club soda. Where the fuck did you get Kool-aid anyways? We didn't pick any up," said Emmett curiously as Alice hung her head in a bit of shame.

"It was in the cupboard."

"That shit could have been here for years Alice, who knows? Listen, once the game is over, I will drive you and Rosie into town to get some real Mojitos okay?" said Emmett sweetly, trying to make Alice feel better for the disaster she concocted. Even when we were kids, he was always trying to soothe over Alice's mistakes. When she accidently cut my mother's thousand dollar curtains, Emmett took the blame for it. When she had her first party and someone broke a lamp, Emmett claimed he accidently hit it while vacuuming. How my parents bought that line, I'll never know since I still don't think he knows what a vacuum is, but they did.

"Thanks," said Alice solemnly as she wandered back to the kitchen and we overheard her telling Rosalie not to try the drink unless she wanted to be sick.

"See, I'll be a good dad one day. I'm an excellent big brother," said Emmett with a grin as I nodded my head. "I just don't know how you are handling it now Edward."

I sat for a moment with my fingers on the bridge of my nose as I contemplated his question. How was I handling it? "The easy answer to that is that I am handling it well because I love Bella and would do anything for her. The hard answer is… fuck if I know. I'm just flying by the seat of my pants most days and let the record show you are an alright big brother. Nothing spectacular."

"Do you ever think… shit I can't do this?" asked Jasper as he looked at me intently while Emmett scowled at me for insinuating he was anything less than a fantastic older brother. Sure, he was good, but he definitely had his moments where I wanted to kick him in the nuts. It was a little amazing how we had matured so much in the past few years and now I wouldn't dare. Then again, Rosalie would probably kick the shit out of me if I came anywhere close to his family jewels.

"Nope. I mean, I wanted to puke when I found out, but you know what… when she has that kid, it will be a part of her and I, it will all be worth the sleepless nights and worries I have had," I admitted with a smile. "Yeah, I've had worries, but as long as the peanut and Bella are happy, then I'm happy."

"Yeah, but babies are a lot of work man. Between the diaper changes, late night feedings and crying, I don't know how you are going to do it," commented Emmett as I looked at him with wide eyes. "There's more to a baby than just loving it. You have to make sure it gets its shots and take it to the doctor regularly. What happens if it gets sick? How long is Bella going to stay home with the baby?"

"I don't know."

"Are you guys going to get a Nanny? If so, can I insist on photos? I might not be able to touch but I can certainly look every now and again," added Emmett with a smirk.

"You can't look either," yelled out Rosalie, who had overheard the conversation.

"Are you guys going to breast or formula feed?" asked Jasper casually as I ran my fingers through my hair, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Every single question they were asking was valid and important, but I hadn't considered any of it in the past. How the fuck was I going to handle this.

"Umm…"

"Do you guys have a birth plan? It would be cool if Bella chose a water birth. I heard they are less painful," offered up Jazz as I started shaking my head violently.

"Stop with the questions. I don't have an answer to any of them. Bella and I need to sit down and talk about all of this stuff," I replied angrily as I took a long sip of my beer and the room fell eerily quiet. After several minutes of quiet, Jasper finally broke the silence.

"Good luck man," he said with a wink as I nodded my head at him slowly and Emmett simply offered a thumbs up. I got up off of the couch and headed into the kitchen to grab another beer and Rosalie and Alice were still discussing Alice's internship.

"You know Edward, you shouldn't worry about what the guys were saying. I'm sure you and Bella will get everything figured out before the baby gets here," said Rosalie genuinely as I nodded my head at her and went to head back into the living room. "However, if either of you fucks up, I'm certain me, Alice and Esme will be all over your asses. Just saying."

When the game ended, Emmett was true to his word and took the Alice and Rosalie into town as I went downstairs to check on Bella. She was fast asleep still, so I crawled into bed beside her and draped my arm over her stomach sweetly, rubbing it gently as I tried to wake her.

"Go away, I was having the best dream," she muttered quietly as I nuzzled my face into her neck, my two day old stubble rubbing against her cheek as I leaned down to kiss her on the edge of her mouth.

"I hope I was in it," I said with a laugh as Bella elbowed me gently in the stomach.

"No… my other guy was there. You know that movie star guy from Harry Potter. The one who played Cedric," she said with a laugh as I pretended to be upset with her before I kissed her temple. "Of course you were in it. You're in all my dreams… and nightmares oddly enough."

"Emmett and the girls went into town so I gave them forty bucks to pick up some pizza for dinner. I figured between the two of us, we weren't up to cooking anything major for dinner. How's the heart burn by the way?" I asked as Bella rolled over onto her back and I was able to actually kiss her on the lips this time. My conversation with Emmett and Jasper had opened my eyes to so many things I hadn't even considered. Bella and I had quickly talked about what we would do when she went back to work, but no decisions had been made. For the first time since Bella announced her pregnancy I was actually worried about how I would handle everything.

"It's okay. I doubt the pizza will help it at all, but I have more Tums. When we get back on the road on Monday I think we'll pick up some more. I have a feeling this will be a continual thing until I have the baby," said Bella as I nodded my head slowly. I would gladly go buy her antacids if she needed them. Fuck, I'd buy stock in Tums if she wanted me to right now. "Which reminds me, where do you want to go to next? We have one week left you know."

"I was thinking of maybe driving up the coast a bit and spending the night in Wilmington. I thought a night or two in Washington might be nice, go to the Smithsonian or whatever," I said casually as I watched Bella's eyes light up. "I kinda wanted to go to Philadelphia too. I mean considering how close we live, I'm surprised we've never gone."

"You just want to go because you love National Treasure. That's probably why you want to go to Washington too. Planning to see if you can steal the Declaration of Independence?" asked Bella with a laugh as I kissed her cheek and nodded my head.

"Not bloody likely. The only thing I ever wanted to steal was your heart."

"It's not stealing if I give it to you willingly."

**A/N: Go read these stories if you have a chance:**

**3,2,1 by Heather Dawn**

**Making the Cut by ShearEnvy**

**Picture Me Sexy by LoriRae**


	23. Hilton Head Island, SC to Washington, DC

**A/N: Okay, so since I'm slowing down in the number of updates I do (real life sucks) I started a little blog (link on profile) where I will be offering teasers like crazy. Probably two a week for American Boy and one a week for The Resolution and Maybe I'm Falling For You.**

**Thanks for being so patient with this story. I promise you that even though the updates aren't as frequent, I am by no means stopping. I'm still updating more than a lot of other authors. LOL**

**Thanks again to MaggieMay14 and Flightlessbird11 for their support. Maggie also has a blog where she's going to give fic recommendations. She has fuckawesome taste in fics.**

**I don't own Twilight, I do have a huge ass Pepsi that I am thoroughly enjoying.**

**BPOV**

The rest of our time in Hilton Head went by way too fast. On Saturday while the boys went golfing, I went to a nearby spa for manicures and pedicures with Alice and Rosalie. We spent most of our time gossiping about former classmates, new houses and things that were happening in the city instead of discussing anything having to do with babies and weddings. We had all agreed that those topics were off the block for discussing because they caused us all too much stress.

We ended up meeting the boys for a nice dinner at a small waterfront restaurant where everyone drank with the exception of Edward and me, so of course we drove the entire group back to the rental house. On the Sunday, we did as little as humanly possible, spending our time playing volleyball down on the beach and having a big BBQ for dinner. There was a small chimenea on the deck, so we all curled up in blankets and chatted aimlessly about nothing of consequence well into the night, only deciding to go to sleep once Alice had passed out on Jasper's lap. Emmett threatened to draw on her face and Rosalie offered to freeze her bra since she was the first to fall asleep, but thankfully Jasper was able to talk them out of both childish ideas, explaining that Alice was the queen of revenge tactics and they would both pay dearly for it, most likely at their wedding, if they did something to her.

We all ended up leaving early on Monday morning with Edward and me making our way up the coast to Washington D.C. The rest of our friends took their rental cars to the airport in Savannah where they caught their flight back to New York City. I felt a little lonely when they left us but managed to find some comfort in the fact that in seven days Edward and I would be back in the city with them. We spent Monday night in Raleigh, N.C. but we were so excited to get to Washington that we didn't spend much time getting to know the area.

Edward and I left Raleigh mid morning and stopped for lunch in Richmond, Virginia before making our way to the Fairmont where we had booked a suite for three nights. Since we had a little time left in the day, we made the White House the first stop on our trip. We headed to the visitors center and got all sorts of information first and were extremely disappointed to learn we couldn't take a tour.

"They only offer tours of the White House in the morning and they prefer you make arrangements at least six months in advance," said Clara the woman in the visitors' center who was offering us advice on not only the White House, but other things to do in the greater Washington area.

"Well that's stupid. We only decided three days ago that we were coming to Washington," said Edward in frustration as I held his arm supportively.

"We'll go see it from the outside, take a few photos and we'll be good to go. I didn't really want to go inside anyways, unless you become President of course," I said with a laugh as Edward rolled his eyes at me.

"Not bloody likely. I don't like making decisions that affect me. Can you imagine how much I will stress over big decisions like a war or budget cuts?" said Edward with a grin. We spent the next thirty minutes walking through all the displays in the visitors' center before picking up a few random gift shop items and heading for a walk to see the actual White House.

"It's bigger than I thought it would be," I said as we stopped in front of it and I began to snap a few photos with our camera.

"That's what she said," replied Edward crudely as I felt his hands resting on my hips and his hardness pressing into my ass.

"You're incorrigible."

"You love it, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed to marry me or have my baby," he said gloating triumphantly. "And admit it baby, isn't that what you first thought when you saw my cock?"

"Do you think you are the only person to discuss penis size in front of the White House? Do you think the Secret Service agents trolling the grounds have some sort of sonar and have picked up our conversation and are giggling like fan girls at you right now?" I asked as I turned around to face him, my hands resting against his firm chest.

"If the Secret Service is listening into this conversation, I just want them to know that I love Isabella Swan and she loves my big dick," he replied as I smacked him on the chest quite hard and then we made our way back down to the visitors' center where we had parked our car. We took a quick drive around the National Mall area which was a little confusing because there were several one way streets around the White House itself. Edward and I ended up deciding to spend the very next day visiting the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institute. We didn't think it was feasible to visit every single attraction in Washington over the next few days, but we would do our best to try.

Edward and I grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back to our hotel to relax for the rest of the night. After a quick fucking session, we curled up beside one another in bed and found ourselves watching repeats of Entourage on HBO. Edward's hand was resting on my stomach lazily and I was actually flipping through my copy of 'What to Expect'.

"Does that book say anything about water births?" asked Edward as I raised my eye brow in curiosity at him.

"Why the fuck would we care? I'm getting drugged up," I said with a laugh as Edward shot me a disappointed scowl.

"I think we should discuss all of our options before we make a final decision," he said as I l turned away from his body and looked at him with surprise. Edward and I had vaguely discussed options for labor in the past, but since it was still several months away I didn't consider it something that we needed to determine today. I couldn't help but wonder what the heck had gotten into him all of a sudden. "We can discuss all of our options when we meet with the doctor next week for our ultrasound."

"I know, but I thought that since you read the book so often, perhaps you have some thoughts on the topic," said Edward with an awkward shrug of his shoulders.

"The only thought I have these days is how quickly I can get the drugs after I go into labor. We can sit down and discuss a birthing plan or whatever down the road. Let's just get the ultrasound done and move on from there," I said as Edward looked at me with concern, not relief. "What brought this on?"

"It was just a conversation I had with Jasper and Emmett back in Hilton Head," he said casually as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was feeling really comfortable about having the baby and then suddenly they starting talking about water births, pediatricians and breast feeding and I suddenly wondered when the fuck we were going to make these decisions."

I leaned forward and rested my head against Edward's chest as I wrapped my arm around his torso, holding him tight to me in an effort to reassure him. "I don't have the answers to any of that stuff yet Edward. All I can say is that we will go have our ultrasound next week and then sign up for pre-natal classes or whatever and go from there. Yeah, there are A LOT of things we need to take into consideration before the peanut is born but we don't have to make them today baby."

I heard a small sigh of relief as Edward's chest rose and fell slowly beneath me. I rubbed my hand in small circles through the sparse hair that covered his chest. "You do realize we're in this together right? We'll tackle every decision no matter how small together."

"I know baby," he said quietly as I felt his lips press lightly against my temple. "It just felt weird having Jasper and Emmett start talking to me about things I never even considered before, like water births. What the fuck is a water birth anyways?"

I let out a laugh and pressed myself further into Edward's side. "It's when you give birth in a tub of water. It's apparently a little less painful for the mother, but that's all I know. We can look into it and see if it's something we want to consider. I'm a little more curious about where the hell Em and Jazz found out anything about birthing and pregnancy."

"I know," said Edward with a loud laugh. "I wondered that myself. I mean, surely they are not sitting around watching the Baby Story on TLC or some shit like that," he finished with another laugh as I turned my head up to him to see his face.

"How the hell do you know about the Baby Story?"

"I'm not blind Bella. There's been more than a few times on our trip that you have needed an afternoon nap and I have watched TV. I'm not proud to admit I've seen a couple of episodes of The Baby Story. Do you think we should call them and see if we can get on the show?" he asked curiously as I shook my head quickly.

"No."

"I was kidding. There's no need to freak out baby."

"You should take your own advice Edward," I said with a quiet yawn. I felt him tighten his grip on my shoulder and before I knew it, we were fast asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning we woke to a soft knock on our door and someone announcing 'room service'. Edward slowly climbed out of bed and tossed on some boxer shorts before opening the door. I remained in bed, covered to my chin with the comforter, but still naked beneath it all. "I forgot I had ordered us breakfast last night," said Edward as he put the trays on the night stand beside me. It seems we were about to eat breakfast in bed.

"Ooh waffles," I said excitedly as Edward handed me my tray and I pulled the lid off eagerly.

"Okay, you totally just reminded me of donkey from Shrek," said Edward with a laugh as he grabbed his tray and walked around the bed to sit down beside me. He had a huge helping of Eggs Benedict which looked just as delicious.

"I am so not Donkey. If anyone is a jackass, that would be you," I said firmly as I reached over and got a scoop of hollandaise sauce from his plate.

"If you want me to share my breakfast, you should be a little nicer to me," he said with a smug smirk as I leaned over and kissed Edward on the cheek. He quickly relented and we were suddenly feeding each other our breakfasts as we chatted amiably about our plans for the rest of the day.

**EPOV**

When we finally finished eating, we took a quick shower together which of course resulted in a little shower play time. As we stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in our luxurious towels, Bella was cursing the fact that it was now after nine. She had wanted to get out of the hotel before nine so that we could try to make it to the National Gallery the moment it opened. Bella ran around the room stressed as she tried to get dressed as quickly as possible. We both tossed on our sneakers and made our way to the SUV and drove through the slightly crowded streets to our destination.

We went through the main entrance, which was right on the National Mall and after we got our audio sets we headed straight to the east building first, at Bella's insistence. I couldn't help but start laughing when we walked in on the ground level of the east building and there directly above us was a gigantic Alexander Calder mobile.

"Okay, do you think this one will fit in the nursery?" I asked Bella with a loud laugh as she giggled back at me.

"Well, according to the text here," she began to say as she pointed to her pamphlet about the gallery, "It's seventy six feet long. So, I'm thinking no."

"Well, he must make smaller baby sized ones," I said hopeful as Bella grabbed my arm and pulled me through the gallery.

We started on the upper level where we silently walked through staring at paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian, who didn't really impress me since his work all looked like thick lines and blocks of color. I could certainly do better with the lackluster artist talent I had, I mused to myself as we walked in peace. On the concourse level, I was much more impressed by the Cutouts by Matisse and the large abstract by Jackson Pollack, which was made entirely of white, black, silver and blue paints. Sure it was just paint splattered on a canvas, but in my opinion it took a little more work than drawing straight lines and coloring within them.

We spent the next three hours working our way through the west building and seeing what Bella deemed the 'highlights' based on her already extensive knowledge of the gallery. During her third year at Columbia, she and a few other classmates had made the trek down to Washington to see the gallery for a research project in her art history class. Even though we technically didn't need to visit again, she insisted on it, saying that the two days she had been previously simply didn't do it justice.

Bella spent most of her time in front of 'Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight' by Monet, staring at it intently as though it was one of those funky 3-D pictures and she would see a goat or something show up. "Are you okay over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just never can get enough of the way Monet used his medium. Up close it looks like a mess of junk, something the baby would wipe on their highchair, but from the distance it's such a beautiful scene," she admitted genuinely as I strolled towards her and wrapped my arms tight around her waist, her small stomach in my hands.

"It is a beautiful painting, but of course I think it pales in comparison to you," I said sweetly as I kissed the side of her neck.

"Did you know that Monet didn't paint any of the Rouen Cathedral paintings because he liked the architecture? He only did it because he liked the atmosphere and the way the light worked around it, he was fascinated by it," Bella said coolly as she rested her head back against my shoulder. Every time she mentioned any small tidbit about a work of art or an artist, I was always reminded of our trip through Europe where I first fell in love with her.

"I think I heard that somewhere," I said with a laugh as I tapped the small audio player resting in her small hands. I released Bella from my grasp as took her hand in mine, leading her through the rest of the gallery. We ended up eating a quick lunch at the café in the gallery before we headed outside to the sculpture garden where we walked around it before deciding to drive down to the National Portrait Gallery. A couple from Indiana that we spoke to during lunch advised us that we would need more than an afternoon to spend at the Smithsonian and Bella quickly recalled that she had wanted to go the portrait gallery as well, so off we went.

The portrait gallery was actually running a retrospective on gay icons that was a lot more fascinating than I thought it would be, thanks to the information I learned on the headset I picked up. Once Bella saw the information on the exhibit, we headed there first. The works all featured well known celebrities like Martina Navratilova and Ellen DeGeneres, who I joked with Bella for a moment that I had no idea she was gay. Bella smacked me on the shoulder for being an idiot and we continued on through the exhibit which also had some really nice portraits of Sir Ian McKellan and Harvey Milk. To say it was captivating would be an understatement.

As we worked through the rest of the gallery Bella stopped me when we reached a photo of Salman Rushdie. "Did you know Bryan Adams has twenty two portraits in this gallery?" she asked me curiously as she pointed to the wall where sure enough, his name was listed as the photographer of the portrait.

"Like… Summer of 69 Bryan Adams?" I asked as Bella nodded her head. "No shit."

"I knew he was a photographer but I thought he just did fashion shoots and shit," she admitted as we moved along and there was another portrait, this time of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. "Jesus. I wonder if he got in to see them because they own 'Cuts like a Knife?"

"Probably not. I bet they loved 'Everything I Do, I Do It for You'," I said with a laugh as a few other patrons of the gallery looked at us curiously. "Surely the Queen is rocking out to him on her jewel encrusted iPod." Bella let out a loud laugh and we scurried into a different room to hide from the people who were giving us the evil eye.

Bella and I ended up leaving the Portrait Gallery just before six and decided to get a bite to eat before heading back to our hotel. As we were enjoying our hamburgers on a small patio café, we were offered the chance to grab a moonlight ride through D.C. around the National Mall. Bella was instantly interested so once we finished, we went to the location and paid for our tickets to get on the old fashioned trolley for the tour.

During the next two and a half hours, Bella and I sat holding hands as we drove around Washington, checking out the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials, the Capitol Building, the White House and Georgetown. The guy narrating the tour didn't speak loud enough for us to hear everything he said, but Bella and I didn't care. She snuggled into my side and we enjoyed the relaxation that the ride afforded us. We took dozens of photos of all of the sites lit up in the night sky and I was worried that Bella was going to fall asleep before we got back to Union Station, where the tour left from.

When we got back to the hotel when the day was said and done, Bella lay down in bed and fell asleep almost immediately. As she slept, I pulled off her shoes, socks and shorts and left her in her panties and the tank top she had worn all day. I pulled the blanket up to cover her as I turned off the main light in the room and curled up on the other side of the bed to go through the baby name book before falling asleep.

The next morning it was Bella who was waking me up to get moving on the day. "Come on sleepyhead. The Smithsonian won't be there all day," she said with a snicker as I rolled over and pulled her warm body flush against mine.

"It's never gone anywhere Bella. An extra hour without us in it won't kill it," I said with a laugh as I buried my head into her neck and began kissing her softly. "They don't even charge baby. It's not like they will go broke," I added as I wrapped my arm tight around her and pushed my hard cock against her ass.

"Edward," Bella forced out quickly, though breathlessly. I knew her resolve was waning when I slid my hand down towards the junction of her thighs and spread them open slightly, Bella's body turning till she was on her back.

"I can stop you know," I muttered quietly as her legs opened further, signaling that she didn't want me to stop. I grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it easily off of her sleepy body. I then bent my head forward and sucked one of her nipples into my mouth, biting it teasingly as my fingers slipped between the folds of her wet pussy. "Do you want me to stop Bella?"

She released a low grunt as she moved against my fingers slightly and I thrust one inside of her, teasing her slowly. My lips moved up from her chest to the crook of her neck as I used my other hand to steady myself since I was lying on my side. "Was that a yes? You want me to stop?"

"No," she yelled out through clenched teeth as my thumb found her clit and I began putting pressure on it, increasing it with each pass of my finger. Just as I was about to add a second finger inside of her, Bella's tiny hand found purchase around my cock and she began to stroke it lightly.

I released my fingers from her and wrapped my hand with hers along my length, using the juice from her wet cunt to lubricate the efforts she was making on my cock, which were simply mind blowing. "Oh fuck," I cursed out as her grip tightened and she then rubbed the tip of me with her finger, ever so slowly.

I dipped my hand back between my legs while Bella worked harder on jacking me off. I thrust two fingers inside of her, furiously working to fuck her as deep as I could while she moaned and writhed beneath my touch. How she managed to not let go of my cock while I fucked her was beyond me, but I was very happy she did.

"More," moaned out Bella as I pressed my thumb back against her tender nub, rubbing it furiously as she continued stroking my cock, the pressure building up within me. I was just about to come as I felt Bella's body tense around my machinations and she screamed out my name loudly, her cries reverberating around the room as she came.

With no instruction from me, Bella suddenly sat up and repositioned herself to suck my cock into her mouth. She was on all fours beside me, her luscious ass in the air as she sucked me deep into her mouth. I lay down onto my back and gave Bella easier access to me as I rubbed her rear, moaning and grunting as she slid up and down on my length, looking so fucking gorgeous.

I reached out and grabbed her hair, pushing it off the side of her face so I could see her better. As I glimpsed the grin on her face as she fellated me, I was suddenly pushed over the edge and unloaded into her mouth in several short spurts with a very loud grunt, rivaling only that of her recent screams in the throes of ecstasy.

"Jesus Fuck. Good morning to you too," Bella said with a laugh as I pulled her down on top of me and began kissing her chin and her neck gently.

"Morning baby," I muttered contentedly. "Okay. Now we can get out of bed and get to the museum."

We managed to walk through the doors of the National Museum of American History, one of the museums of the Smithsonian, just after ten, our stomachs full of Egg McMuffins and coffee and our libidos slightly sated. We started on the third floor and checked out the exhibits on musical instruments which were very interesting. They had some beautiful pianos on display as well as one of Dizzy Gillespie's trumpets, which I stared at for way too long. Bella was more excited to see a Kermit the Frog puppet that they had on display rather than the trumpet, but I didn't mind.

We worked our way down to the second floor which was comprised of exhibitions on American Life and Ideals, and included a display of the Gettysburg address which was awesome to see. We then went down to the lower level to have lunch in the cafeteria before ending the day on the main level of the museum, where they had some awesome exhibits about science, technology and transportation.

Bella and I then walked over to the National Museum of Natural History, another one of the Smithsonian museums and spent the next four hours going through their exhibits before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel, both of us exhausted from our busy day. We ordered dinner, watched a cheesy pay per view movie and then cuddled up to sleep, with my dreaming happily of our morning session and hoping for round two when we woke up in the morning.

**A/N: Come play on the blog... leave a comment, read a teaser all that special crap. Today's recommendations are Reality Minus Expectations by mjinaspen ( I love her ) and Unraveled Knot by twistedcoincidence.**


	24. Washington, DC to Philadelphia, PA

**A/N: Sorry for the delay… Lengthy A/N at the end.**

**BPOV **

We spent one more day in Washington, this time visiting some of the monuments first hand, before we ended up leaving for Philadelphia, which was a our last official stop before heading back to New York City. We had three days scheduled in Philly, which Edward claimed wouldn't be enough, but we lived close enough that we could always make a weekend getaway back to the city if need be. After all, the only place I really wanted to visit was the Museum of Art and everything else was simply a bonus.

So, on Friday morning we hopped in the car and drove up to Philadelphia. We had originally planned to go through Baltimore, but at the last minute and with me feeling a horny as all hell, I had Edward take US-50 through Annapolis, which turned into the Blue Star Memorial Highway. "You do realize it will take us longer to get there right?" said Edward as I directed him to follow the highway and he looked at me with confusion wild in his eyes.

"It should only be like twenty minutes longer. Are we suddenly in a hurry?"

"Well, no. I just don't want to waste a day driving through the country when we could have gotten into Philadelphia sooner," said Edward with a bit of a pout. Ever since we had left Washington, Edward had been in a bit of a sour mood. I think he was simply concerned about the fact that the trip was almost over and real-life was about to kick us in the ass when we got back to New York City. We would now have to worry about ultrasounds, doctor appointments, finding a new house, a new car and actually holding down jobs. It was all a little daunting, but I was kind of looking forward to getting off the road and sleeping in my own damned bed.

"I promise that it won't be a waste baby," I said sweetly as I intertwined my fingers in his and we trudged on ahead, driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as we stared out over the bay. "See… we got to see the bay. We wouldn't have seen it if we had kept on the original road."

"It's just water Bella."

"Don't be such a spoil sport Edward," I retorted in frustration as I noticed the houses along the road becoming sparser, which was just what I wanted. In my brilliance this morning, I had tossed on a skirt and as Edward wasn't paying attention to me, I sat up and slowly peeled my panties off, dropping them on dashboard with a seductive grin. As Edward's eyes noticed the small scrap of fabric, the SUV suddenly jerked to the side and I heard him let out a long growl.

"What are you doing?" he asked as I noticed the car had slowed somewhat and he fidgeted, his shorts clearly getting tighter thanks to his straining cock. I released my grip on Edward's hand and then rested my hand on his thigh, rubbing gently before finally moving it over top of his very obvious erection. I cupped it over the fabric and slid my hand up and down his length as I heard Edward grinding his teeth.

"I'm about to get in trouble," I said slyly as I unbuckled my seat belt and Edward looked at me disapprovingly. Before he could manage to get a word out in chastisement, I had reached over and was unbuckling his belt and pulling down his zipper.

"This is so not safe Bella," he said with a groan and then a bit of a hiss as my hand reached into his boxers and I pulled out his hard, throbbing cock. I didn't offer Edward any sort of response as I repositioned myself on my knees and licked my lips as my hand stroked him gently at first. "Fuck, I don't care about safety," cursed out Edward as he suddenly moved his seat back, giving me more room to work with, but still making him able to drive.

Edward lifted his right arm up and I moved into position above his cock, my mouth literally inches away from him. "This is so fucking naughty Bella," Edward commented tersely as I felt his right hand now resting on my ass, rubbing it firmly as he continued to attempt to drive. "I love it."

"Eyes on the road big man," I purred before finally licking along his length and sucking him into my mouth. I heard Edward let out a hiss as the Yukon jerked slightly when I ran my tongue along the small slit at the tip of his cock, licking up all the pre cum that had already formed.

"Oh my god baby," he forced out as I then began to bob my head up and down on his length slowly, my teeth scraping the underside gently, which I knew Edward loved. With each movement, I moved him deeper and deeper into my throat and just when I thought I had him deep enough; Edward pulled off of the road and put on his four way lights. "Are you trying to kill us?"

I lifted my head for a moment, a smile plastered to my face as I leaned in to kiss him, my hand now stroking his cock firmly. "No. Can't a girl just want to suck her man's dick?" I asked with a bit of a laugh as Edward suddenly put his hands behind his head as though he was resting.

"Have at it baby," he said as I lowered my mouth onto him again and I moaned in appreciation while he let out another growl. "Fuck you are so fucking good." Edward's words simply spurred me on and as I felt one of his hands pushing up the hem of my skirt and him rubbing my ass again, his left hand was now threading through my hair as he helped to ease me further down onto his cock.

Only a few minutes later, Edward was calling out my name loudly as he came down my throat with a few gentle thrusts as he fucked my face. I pulled the hem of my skirt down as I sat back on my knees, looking at Edward with a huge smile on my face. "We need to get off the main road."

"Why… what's wrong?" I asked, suddenly concerned that something was up.

"You unleashed a monster Bella and I desperately need to fuck you," he said with all seriousness as he suddenly turned his four ways off and turned back onto the road, urgently looking for something more secluded.

Less than a mile down the road, there was a small side road and Edward quickly turned down it, the pavement turning to dirt as we continued further along. There was a small secluded park area, surrounded by trees and Edward grinned from ear to ear as he pulled off the road and put the SUV into park. "My turn," he said as he chuckled darkly and stepped from the SUV. "Get out."

I quickly hopped out the passenger seat and Edward grasped my wrist firmly as he pulled me to the back seat. "In." I nodded silently and climbed into the backseat, which thankfully was a hell of a lot more spacious than most small cars. "Push your skirt up around your waist and pull off your shirt Bella."

I let out a little yelp in appreciation as I slid into the backseat and followed Edward's instructions perfectly. Forceful Edward was always one of my favorites and loved when he was in charge of our love making, even though this was clearly going to be a good quick fuck. I licked my lips in anticipation as I watched Edward unzip his pants again and join me in the back seat. It wasn't the most comfortable position known to man, but fucking in a car wasn't about comfort. It was about want, desire and pure sex, nothing more.

Edward propped himself up on his knees and pulled me towards him, my ass sliding along the back of the seat. Once he had me in a position that he liked, he immediately ran one finger along my pussy, teasing my clit for a moment. "You're dripping wet Bella."

"Uh huh," I forced out as I bit on my bottom lip and watched as his eyes darkened and a smug grin formed on his gorgeous face.

"Good. This will make this easier on us then," he said as he thrust three fingers within me and I arched my back as I yelled out his name, the noise echoing within the car. "You are so fucking gorgeous," he muttered as he fucked me with his fingers a few more times before pulling them out and sucking on them eagerly. "And so fucking delicious."

In the blink of an eye, Edward leaned forward one of his hands resting on the door behind my head and the other on my hip. "I need you," he breathed out slowly as he kissed me tenderly and then thrust his cock as hard as he could within my aching body. I cried out in surprise and ecstasy as I kept eye contact with him, his cock pounding into me as quickly as he could. Edward tensed slightly as I ran my hands up along his taught back, my nails scraping him as he continued his movements.

"Fuck… me…." I panted breathlessly as he bent his head closer to my body, pulling on my nipple as he never once pulled his cock fully from me, always leaving just the tip inside before pushing back into me. I slipped my hand between our bodies and was rubbing my clit like a maniac as Edward watched my movements intensely, his gorgeous green eyes darkening even more as he had his way with me.

"Come for me baby," he begged as he bit my nipple, causing me to yell out. My back arched off the seat as my orgasm overtook me, followed closely by Edward's own release. "So fucking stunning," he added as he rested his tired head against my chest. I reached my hands up, slowly running my fingers through his sweat dampened hair and kissed his forehead.

"We're gonna be late," I said with a giggle as Edward sat up slightly and kissed me firmly on the lips.

"It was so fucking worth it though."

We ended up arriving in Philadelphia shortly after lunch, our small play break only delaying us by half an hour. We found a small restaurant near the hotel for lunch and then headed over to the Loews Hotel to check in. Since this was our last stop on the road trip, Edward had booked us a decent sized suite with a view of the city. The moment we got into our room, I took a quick nap and Edward called his parents to touch base and let them know about the ultrasound we had scheduled in a few days.

When I woke up, it was already nearing six, so Edward and I decided to stay at the hotel and eat dinner at one of their restaurants, rather than venturing out anywhere in the city. We then settled in for a night of watching TV as I read more of the baby books we had.

"Do you realize we've discussed a lot of baby boy names, but not many for girls?" I said quietly as I flipped through the book on my lap. "What do you think about Harlow?"

"We're not that Nicole Ritchie girl… so I don't like it. Harlow Cullen? Nope, not a chance," said Edward with a small smile as I kept going, suddenly interested in possible girl names. I rubbed my stomach for a moment, excited with the prospect of having a daughter. I couldn't wait till the ultrasound on Wednesday to find out what we were having and that it was healthy.

"Okay, so it's a no on Harlow. What about Abigail… Abigail Cullen has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"If she's my great grandmother… next suggestion please," said Edward as he rolled onto his side and propped his head up on one hand, while the other one began rubbing my small bump. "What about Madison?"

"I went to school with a Madison and she was a royal bitch. How about Avery?"

"Hmm… Avery Cullen," said Edward as he pretended to stroke his none existent goatee. "It's not that bad. What about Brandi?"

"Brandi sounds like a mom from Arizona with like ten kids… next," I said with a laugh as Edward pulled the book from my hand and began flipping through it. He stopped on a page and pointed to a name with his eyes closed.

"What about Kelly? We could spell it with an i or an ie," he suggested as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"The eighties called… they want their baby names back."

"Okay, how about Verity? It means 'truth' in Old English," I looked at Edward, my eyes completely incredulous.

"What are you going to suggest next, Moesha?"

"Hey, that was a good show," laughed Edward as I patted him on the chest and joined in with his laughter.

"You are an idiot."

'Yes, but I am your idiot."

Early the next morning, Edward and I ventured out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, hoping to spend at least half the day exploring it as much as we could. We went through their extensive exhibit on the New York Dadaists first and then moved on to some of their European Art, which including some stunning works by Renoir, Rousseau, Monet, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec. I spent more than a little time ogling 'Moored Boats and Tree's by Georges Seurat, but Edward didn't seem to mind. He listened intently to his head set and held my hand tightly. Every time I looked at him from the corner of my eye, he was always smiling cheerfully and I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to have found him.

After a quick lunch, we headed off to Betsy Ross house to soak up a bit of history and then swung by Elfreths Alley, one of the oldest continuously occupied streets in all of the U.S. We then wandered over to AKA Music, as recommended by of the guys we talked to at Betsy Ross house. It was a little odd to talk to a guy in period costume telling us about where the find the best vinyl in town, but Edward was excited nonetheless and we made our way over fairly quickly.

When we walked in, the store was very reminiscent of Amoeba Music in San Francisco. Edward and I parted ways after a quick kiss and he sorted through the rare assortment of music as I wandered around, unsure of what I was looking for, if anything. Half an hour later, Edward came up to me with virtually every single Radiohead album he didn't already own and a few other rare releases. Pleased, with his purchases, we ended up leaving the store earlier than I had expected but it was still close to dinner.

We ended up on Market Street at a restaurant called 'Fork', which even though they suggested we should have called ahead with reservations, was able to get us a table conveniently located in the middle of the restaurant when Edward threw the Cullen name around. After four years together, I still wasn't completely comfortable with the fact that his family was loaded and mine wanted to hold our wedding reception at the Y in Forks. It was an adjustment I was doing my best to make, but it was still an adjustment nonetheless.

We ate cheerfully, the conversation about the next days' activities flowing casually between us. When Edward off handedly mentioned his conversation with his parents from the day before, my interest was clearly piqued. "Did something happen?" I asked curiously as he shook his head slowly.

"Nothing we need to worry about."

**EPOV**

While Bella had been asleep in our room the day before, I felt the need to contact my mother and let her know we would be back in Manhattan in a few days. Esme expressed her excitement when I told her about the ultrasound we had scheduled and how both Bella and I were eager to learn the sex of the baby and then it happened. My mother went off on a tangent that lasted almost half an hour about how important it was to her and 'our' family that Bella and I be married before the baby arrives.

I glanced over and made sure that Bella was fast asleep before I stepped into the bathroom to muffle the rage I was about to unleash on my mother. "What the hell happened to respecting the wishes of Bella and me? We all agreed back in Forks that it was best for us if we waited… didn't we?" I inquired angrily as I heard my mother pause on the other end of the phone.

"That was a month ago Edward and your father and I have had time to talk about it. Don't get me wrong, we're excited about the engagement and the baby but…," my mother paused and I jumped at the opportunity to interrupt her.

"But… what happens when your entire coven of friends find out someone in our family had a baby out of wedlock, right? You don't actually care how Bella and I feel about the situation; you don't want to ruin appearances huh?" I was really hoping to hear my mother gasp or deny my accusation, but that didn't happen. Instead, she attempted to cover her tracks as I opened the bathroom door slightly to make sure Bella hadn't heard me.

"Edward, that's not what I am saying. Wouldn't you prefer to be married when the baby is born?" she asked anxiously as I ran my hands through my hair, feeling frustrated as hell.

"Mother, just get to the point. You don't care about what Bella and I have already decided, so be honest with me."

"I am being honest with you Edward. Your father and I think you will regret not being married to Bella when your child is born in several months. We're just looking out for your well being," she uttered quietly as I grabbed the phone from my ear and mocked throwing it against the counter in the bathroom repeatedly. She was frustrating as hell and clearly wasn't getting to the real point.

"You know what?" I asked, my voice filled with fury. "Bella and I make the decisions that are best for us. Whether we get married before or after the peanut is born is of no consequence to you. You just need to support the decisions I make. If you still have issues with this, then get over them. I will call you after the doctor's appointment and let you know what happened."

I felt really callous as I got off the phone with my mother, not even bidding her goodbye when she finished speaking, but I didn't give a shit at that moment. The only thing I cared about was fast asleep in the adjoining room, wearing my engagement ring and pregnant with my baby. I took a few moments to compose myself before walking back into the bedroom to relax somewhat.

Over the next twenty four hours, I tried to put my mother's words out of my head but when Bella mentioned the call during dinner, I was scared to tell her the truth, so I dodged her queries and let her know there was nothing to worry about. The last thing she needed to know was that my mother was pressuring us to get married before the baby was born.

We finished dinner by eight and then walked through the streets of Philadelphia, back to our hotel. The night air was a little chilly, so I wrapped my arm right around Bella's shoulder and kept her as close to me as I could. Unfortunately for me, my mother's words kept ringing through my head but as we went to sleep that night, but I determined that I wasn't going to worry about it and focus on what Bella and I had already decided.

On Sunday Morning, Bella and I enjoyed some French toast and fruit in our hotel room before heading out to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. While we were out on Saturday, Bella and I had ordered tickets in advance for the free tour at Independence Hall, which saved us a ton of time because it was a very popular attraction.

"I feel like Nicholas Cage in National Treasure," I said with a laugh as we waited patiently for our tour to start.

"Can I be the funny sidekick instead of the crappy blonde chick with the bad accent?" asked Bella as I intertwined my fingers into hers and we stepped ahead with the tour group.

"Sure, if you prefer. I never really liked the name Riley though," I admitted as I kissed her temple quickly. "So, if we have a boy that is definitely out of the running."

"What about Ben?" inquired Bella as we clung to each other's sides as we were led into the building to begin the tour. We remained somewhat silent for the rest of the tour, Bella offering up quotes from National Treasure at the drop of a hat as I laughed quietly at her. It was nice to simply enjoy the time we had together before the real world sunk in again.

As the tour guide started to explain to us about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Bella suddenly stopped in her place and shouted out, "Can I marry your brain?"

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked her with a laugh as the entire tour group turned to look at her. The guide, who was probably in his late teens looked at her and simply winked, making me pull Bella closer to my side and glare at him.

"Thanks for the offer Miss, but I don't think that's possible," the guide said quickly before returning to his speech about two of the most major pieces of American history.

"I'm just having some fun. It's not like we know these people, we can be complete idiots if we want," laughed Bella as I shook my head from side to side.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked as I put my hand against her forehead and she stepped back from me, clearly feeling fine but a little irritated.

"I'm trying to enjoy myself. Pretty soon we'll be parents and we won't be able to just act like morons," she said with a bit of a pout. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the tour, deciding to simply let Bella have her fun. "Albequerque? Snorkel?" she said with a laugh. Unfortunately, since I didn't seem too interested in playing along, she ended the game fairly quickly.

After the tour, we headed over to see the Liberty Bell before finally deciding on stopping to have some lunch. Once that was done, we ended up grabbing a horse drawn carriage ride through the historic district and sat in relative peace as we looked out at all the sights, Bella's hand wrapped in mine the entire time. Bella rested her head on my shoulder and I gently pushed the hair from her eyes and I couldn't help but notice how tired she was. "Do you want to head back to the hotel when the ride is over?" I asked sweetly as I kissed her temple.

"Would you mind?"

"Not at all baby. If you are feeling tired, we can definitely go rest for a while. It's only two so there is time for a bit of a nap if you want," I suggested as Bella nodded her head into my shoulder. I reached up and tapped the driver on the shoulder and he pulled the carriage to a stop. "How much to take us to the Loews Hotel?"

"Seriously?" the driver asked incredulously as I nodded my head. "That would probably be like a hundred at least." I pulled out my wallet and handed him three fifty dollar bills, before I got comfortable, pulling Bella into my side again.

As the ride continued, Bella ended up taking a quick nap with her head buried on my chest and my arms wrapped around her. It was just past three as we pulled in front of the hotel and I wrapped Bella into my arms and carried her into the lobby to the stares of the other guests at the hotel. When we stepped into the elevator, Bella was finally waking up, so I put her down on her feet but wrapped my arm around her waist to help balance her.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep," she said quietly as I grabbed her face in both of my hands and kissed her lips fiercely.

"There's not need to apologize sweetie," I said sincerely as the elevator opened onto our floor and I led Bella towards our room. "Why don't you go take a bath and I will come in and join you?"

As we stepped into the room, Bella eagerly walked into the bathroom and began to run the water as I checked my cell phone that I had left on the table. There were four messages, all from my mother. I listened to each one, all apologetic and polite and then I deleted them, realizing I didn't really give a shit about her opinion anymore. Bella and I were doing things the way we wanted to and I was ecstatic about it. I turned my phone off and went to join Bella in the bathtub.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked with a grin as I noticed she was already nude and soaking in the hot water.

"I'll be perfect when you join me."

**A/N: Okay ladies, sorry for the delay in this chapter. I'd blame the long weekend and all that jazz, but RL has been kicking my ass.**

**I did a one-shot for Ninapolitan's D.I.L.F contest, called 'Sweet and Lowdown'. The link is on my profile. Voting begins in a few weeks, but I will keep you updated. Go read and enjoy my version of DILFward. LOL**

**I am also running a contest with kikikinz under the name kikiwhore. We are encouraging everyone, newbies and established writers to do a one-shot showcasing some love for Esme. She needs it. There are links on my profile page and my blog, so hop to it. Enter as many times as you like, just fricking enter. I'm a newbie at running a contest and would appreciate the pimpage just as much as the submittals.**

**Phew… there, now that's done. Come play on the blog, I tease like crazy or join us on twitter, where I flirt like I'm single again.**


	25. Philadelphia, PA to New York City, NY

**A/N: What is this fuckery? Another American Boy chapter so soon? Yes, it's true and you all have to thank Darcy13 for giving me the idea that sparked this chapter, thus making it your eyes so quickly.**

**Big love to MaggieMay14 and flightlessbird11 for their help and encouragement and all that shit. Who's envious that MM14 and I are seeing Joshua Radin tomorrow night? I know you all are! LOL**

**Also, today is the first day for submittals in the Esme's Erotic Ecstasy contest, so if you are interested in writing a one shot featuring Esme and well… anyone, get on it. The contest ends October 31****st****, with the link to the contest on my profile.**

**I don't own Twilight. I am currently watching Handy Manny against my will.**

**BPOV**

"We're about to leave Philadelphia Edward and this is the first time I have asked you to go get me anything pregnancy related," I whined as Edward glared at me before zipping up his luggage and tossing it beside the door of our hotel room.

"You're right… we are about to leave Philadelphia, so how about we just go get it and eat it in the car," he suggested as I looked down at the ground and stuck out my bottom lip. I even pretended to kick dirt with my shoe, even though all I kicked was the fancy Berber carpet. "Bella, I don't mind going to get you a damned sandwich, I just think it would make more sense to do it as we drove home."

"Fine. I will eat the cheesesteak in the comfort of the SUV, but I won't be happy about it," I muttered as Edward suddenly picked up the hotel room phone and called the concierge asking about the best place to go for a cheesesteak. I sat on the edge of the bed, listening intently with a big smile on my face as I celebrated my first official craving.

"So, Darcy the concierge was very helpful," Edward said with a laugh as he hung up the phone and had a big smile on his face. "She's apparently quiet the cheesesteak connoisseur so she had a ton of thoughts on the topic. Apparently, we are supposed to go over to Jim's Steaks on South Street," said Edward as he checked the address on the little piece of paper he had written on.

"I thought Geno's was the best place in town?" I inquired, remembering what one of the ladies on the Independence Hall tour had mentioned.

"Not according to Darcy, the Cheesesteak Nazi. She said a lot of people like Pat's and Geno's but she recommended Jim's. She also said it was more authentic with provolone instead of Cheese Whiz and recommends grilled onions and the Italian roll. Now, are you ready to go?" he asked impatiently as he shoved the small piece of paper in his pocket. I nodded my head in the affirmative and off we went, about to leave our final destination for a cheesesteak and the comfort of home.

Half an hour later, we were standing in a line that rounded the corner, waiting rather impatiently for our sandwiches. We talked randomly to people in the line who agreed wholeheartedly with Darcy, that Jim's Steaks was the best in town and a few others were also from Manhattan and had been in town for a wedding. "Are you two getting married?" asked Sarah, the girl who was staring at my left hand with a grin.

"Uh yeah," I muttered as I held up the ring and she looked at it in awe.

"Holy shit, how many carats is that thing? Did you sell your first born for that huge rock?" she asked as I stared at her incredulously. Who seriously asked about shit like that with a complete stranger?

"It's not real," I lied with a laugh as she looked over at Edward and frowned in dissapointment.

"Not real? Seriously, you couldn't put aside two month's salary to get a real diamond?" she suddenly turned to her boyfriend and chastised him even though he had done nothing to deserve it. "Don't even think of getting me some cubic zirconia piece of shit."

"Whatever you say dear," her boyfriend replied as he rolled his eyes. I had a feeling that he didn't plan to ever ask her based on her rather acerbic behavior.

"Does your father know he proposed with a fake rock? I think my dad would have a coronary and probably kick the guy out on his ass," she added crassly and I came up with a witty comeback.

"Uh, no. I do think he and my father have come to an agreement on how many goats I am worth though," I said sarcastically as Edward let out a low laugh in response. I turned towards him and rolled my eyes as Sarah began asking us all sorts of questions about our potential wedding, if we went to school in New York and how we first met. She was a chatty little thing and I was so relieved when we finally got the front of the line to order our sandwiches.

Twenty minutes later, we were safely within the confines of the SUV, munching away on our sandwiches in complete silence when my phone rang. "Rosalie," I said with a groan as I lifted the phone and showed it to Edward.

"Are you going to answer it?" he asked curiously as he took another bite of his sandwich and I shoved it back into my pocket.

"I told her we would be home tonight. She can wait a few more hours until we are ready to talk to her right? I doubt it's anything life or death related. She probably is just worried that the scent of her flowers will be overpowering or something insane," I explained as Edward nodded his head but kept on eating.

Edward finished his sandwich in record time and was eager to get on the road since it was already after one in the afternoon. So, I sat back in the comfort of the SUV, my sandwich grasped firmly in my hands and off we went, leaving behind Philadelphia and our final summer as kids. Onto real life and parenthood.

When we pulled into the parking garage of our apartment building it was just after 4. We suffered through bumper to bumper traffic coming into Manhattan and were delayed a bit getting home, which pissed Edward off. Since there wasn't much to do, I ended up calling Rosalie, who wanted to see if we would be going down to the Cullen's house in Boston for the weekend. I looked at Edward in curiosity, surprised that he hadn't mentioned it earlier. He simply shrugged his shoulders as I informed Rosalie that we weren't sure and I would let her know.

Apparently Esme and Carlisle were throwing a small engagement party for Rosalie and Emmett at their home in Boston and we were all invited and expected to attend. Of course, this was the first I had heard of it and I was a little frustrated, having planned to sit on my ass on the couch most of the weekend and catch up on my TIVO.

When Edward and I got out of the Yukon, we both looked at it with disdain. Where it was once a comfortable ride around the country, now I just looked at it with fear because we would need to empty the damned thing. "Let's just go upstairs for a bit and unwind. This shit isn't going anywhere."

I agreed eagerly with Edward and we quickly took the elevator up to the apartment. When we opened the door, everything looked so small and old. There was a huge pile of mail on the kitchen counter, courtesy of Emmett who was charged with checking it weekly and none of our plants were dead, so that was a bonus. Edward grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto his lap as he sat on the couch. "So… I was thinking that maybe we could contact that real estate agent on Thursday and have her start looking for something for us," said Edward as he rested his chin on my shoulder, his strong arms now wrapped firmly around my chest.

"Are we going to your parents place this weekend?" I asked, as Edward let out a small groan. "I take it that you don't want to go huh?"

"We're supposed to go and all, this is their engagement party and we are their maid of honor and best man, but I can't say I'm excited about it. I think maybe we'll drive up Saturday morning and come home early on Sunday. The less time we spend there the better," said Edward cryptically. I cocked my eyebrow at him, slightly concerned but he said nothing else.

"I thought you were getting along better with your folks," I said matter of factly as Edward pulled back from me a bit and rested his head against the back of our couch.

"Yeah so did I. Oh, hold that thought," he added as he lifted his hand to silence me and he pulled his ringing cell phone from his pocket. Edward suddenly launched into a conversation with Jasper about him and Alice coming over tonight, so I slipped off of Edward's lap and started going through the mail, making three piles… junk, bills and miscellaneous shit. "Jazz and Ali are coming over in like an hour with pizza. Are you good with that?" Edward called from the couch.

"Sure," I replied casually as I flipped through the monstrous stack and found that almost everything was junk. When Edward was done on the phone, he casually strolled over to me and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his lips landing gently against the crook of my neck.

"I promise I will make sure they leave early and I will have Jasper help me unload the SUV, sound like a plan?" Edward queried as I turned my head and kissed his cheek.

"Sounds fine baby. I'm going to go take a quick shower; can you at least go grab my bag from the car?" Edward quickly agreed and headed out the door and back down to the garage. After my shower, I found a few things from the car had been brought up in addition to my bag and once I was dressed in a comfortable pair of sweats and one of Edward's old NYU t-shirts, I began sorting through some of the stuff.

The first bag I pulled out had Edward's purchases from the record store in Philadelphia, so I quickly put them on his dresser, out of the way of the mess. I then found the bag from the Godiva store in San Francisco, with only half a box of chocolates left. I tossed a few truffles in my mouth, smiling happily as I reached for the next bag which was from the baby store in San Francisco. "What do you have there?" asked Edward as I jumped slightly, startled by him coming into the room. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have been surprised," I said lamely as I held up the small onesie from the bag that said 'Follow me on Twitter'. "This thing is fucking adorable and is it wrong that I hate shopping, but I can't wait to buy things for the baby?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with that at all," Edward said happily as he wrapped his arms around my waist, his hands resting on my stomach. "Just don't go overboard until we've moved and have room to store all the shit."

"I think I can handle that. Make sure you tell your sister and your mother the same thing," I explained stoically as there was a loud knock on the door and Alice suddenly bounded in, not even waiting for us to welcome her.

"Welcome back and all that shit. Jasper's waiting downstairs at the SUV for you Edward to help you with all the stuff," she said lightly as she walked into the bedroom and pulled me away from her brother. "We already ordered the pizza and it should be delivered within twenty minutes or so. Bella… come talk to me." I raised my eye brows at Edward as Alice pulled me from the bedroom. I tossed the onesie back on the bed and reluctantly followed her out to the living room where she sat comfortably on the couch and watched me expectantly. "Sit down Bella."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" I asked with a groan as I sat down beside her and began flipping through channels. Alice yanked the remote from my hands and rested her hands on my knees as she stared at me in irritation.

"Why aren't you and Edward going to the Engagement Party?" she questioned me as Edward walked by and out the front door, leaving me to fend for myself.

"We only just found out about it," I said acerbically as Alice rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I never said we weren't going. Where the fuck are you getting this info from? This sounds like some bad game of telephone where you hear something from Rosalie, who heard it from Esme who is making shit up to piss me off." I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a little huff of frustration.

"So, does that mean you guys are going? Rosalie called me in a tizzy all concerned that the maid of honor and best man won't make it to the party and I can't handle an upset Rosalie, I seriously can't," she said anxiously, her eyes pleading with me to head to Boston this weekend. "Is this because of the fight Edward had with our mom?"

"What fight?" I asked, my mind now racing with various thoughts about what the hell they could be fighting about.

"I don't know. All I know is she is being a cow lately and when I asked her what was wrong she said to ask Edward. I kinda wanted to punch her in the mouth, but since I was talking to her on the phone, that wasn't happening," giggled Alice as I quickly envisioned her giving her mother an uppercut to the face and I joined in the laughter.

Edward and Jasper walked in a few minutes later, both of the arms loaded up with bags and camping supplies that rarely got used. "Well you ladies sound happy," said Jasper as he tossed the sleeping bags and tent on the ground and waited by the door for Edward who had taken his luggage into our bedroom.

"I was just asking Bella here why Edward was fighting with our mom," said Alice as Edward walked out, his face turning pale and I instantly knew there was something he was holding back.

**EPOV**

Alice and her god damned huge mouth. I would kick her ass right now if I didn't think that both Jasper and Bella would be all over me about it. Bella looked at me, clearly waiting for a sufficient answer, but I still didn't want to worry her before the ultrasound.

"Can we talk about it later?" I asked as I moved closer to the door and Jasper, hoping to make a quick escape down to the parking garage to get more crap from the SUV.

"Did you fight with your mom and this is why you don't really want to go to the engagement party?" asked Bella, her face now appearing a bit saddened. I walked back into the living room and sat down beside Bella, offering up a sweet hug to console her. Alice got up and went to join Jasper and together they headed down to get more stuff out of the Yukon. "Why don't you want to tell me?"

"It's not that I don't want to tell you Bella. I was honestly trying to avoid any stress until after the ultrasound on Wednesday," I admitted anxiously. Bella rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly around my mid section.

"Is it bad?"

"Well, not end of the world, completely disowning me and withholding my trust fund bad," I declared with a small laugh, hoping that Bella could find humor in the situation. "She's just been pestering me for you and I to get married before the baby is born."

"Did you tell her about Vegas?"

"No."

"Okay."

"Well, it's not really my place to say anything right? I mean, we made our decision and I'm sticking to it. Why, do you want to tell them about Vegas?" I asked her as Jasper and Alice suddenly stormed into the apartment, each of them carrying a handful of bags from our various destinations.

"What happened in Vegas?" asked Alice curiously as she laid the bags down on the counter.

"Nothing," Bella and I both snapped at the same time as my sister and her boyfriend looked at us in bewilderment.

"Oh look, I found the creepy doll that I bought at that Raggedy Ann Museum in Illinois. Do you think the baby would want it?" said Jasper as he tried to break the tension in the room.

"No," I replied in frustration as Alice stood there waiting for me to give a more solid answer about Las Vegas. As if the gods were smiling on us, a guy walked up to the front door hold two boxes of pizza and looking for Jasper, who paid him in cash and eagerly took the boxes from him.

We sat around in the living room and ate our pizza in relative silence, with the exception of Alice who yammered on about her classes and the redecorating she was doing to the apartment she shared with Jasper. How the hell she managed to be so damned talkative and full of energy completely baffled me, but Jasper didn't seem to mind and he was stuck with her for the rest of his life, not me.

"So, are you guys gonna come to the party? I'm pretty sure you can find ways to avoid Mom during the thing. Rosalie and Emmett would be so upset if you didn't make it," said Alice as she pleaded with us to make a decision.

I looked over at Bella, who was smiling faintly and then I just nodded my head in submittal. "We'll be there, but we might not like it," I said as I took another bite of my supreme pizza and Bella curled into my side. "By the way, please don't do something lame like try and corner mom and me in the pantry so we can talk. I honestly think I might never let you see the baby if you did that Alice."

My sister looked at me with feigned shock and laid her hand over her heart. "I'm hurt that you would think I would be so sneaky, Edward."

"Alice, I've known you for over twenty years, you were just as sneaky as a child as you are now as an adult. Mom and I have our own issues to work out and she needs to learn to respect our decisions," I said confidently as I moved my hand up and down along Bella's shoulder. I felt her nod her head against my chest and Alice, thankfully, took a hint and began talking about our doctor's appointment in two days.

Jasper ended up dragging Alice out of the apartment just after nine and Bella and I stared at everything in the room and just decided to go to bed. The day had already been long enough, neither of us wanted to stay up till two in the morning sorting out gifts and supplies. Not even ten minutes after we crawled into bed, both of us were passed out.

On Wednesday morning when we walked into Dr. Feldman's office, Bella and I were both a bundle of nerves. I walked up to the reception desk with her and Nicole, the main receptionist who Bella had booked the appointment with, handed her a pile of paperwork to fill out. We sat beside each other in the waiting room as Bella asked me for my family's medical history and we filled everything out as best as we could.

"I'm nervous," Bella said quietly once she came back to her chair after returning the paperwork to the front desk. The moment I went to soothe her, Nicole called Bella's name and we rose from our seats together. I entwined her fingers with mine as we followed Nicole into the Dr. Feldman's spacious office.

"She'll be right with you," said Nicole as she shut the door firmly behind her and Bella and I took seats across from her desk. I could sense Bella's anxiety was getting worse as her knee began shaking beneath my hand, so I tightened my grip and held it firmly.

"There's nothing to be worried about Bella. Everything has been moving along smoothly, even your doctor back in Forks said things were good, so relax," I said as I moved my hand to her neck and I began rubbing it slowly.

"Bella… it's so nice to see you again," said Dr. Feldman as she walked into the room and caught a glimpse of me sitting beside her. The doctor was a nice looking woman in her early fifties with salt and pepper hair and a very welcoming smile. Bella seemed to calm when she walked in, but the stress was still evident on her face. "I'm guessing you are her husband, Mr. Swan?"

"Uh no," I said with a laugh as I stood up and offered her my hand, which she shook graciously. "I'm Edward Cullen, Bella's fiancée."

"Well, nice to meet you Edward," she said as she sat down in her chair and leaned back slightly, looking at Bella curiously. "So, what's going on? What brings you two here?"

"We're expecting," said Bella quietly as Dr. Feldman got a huge smile on her face. "We were away for the past two months and I had the test run back at my doctor's office in Forks to confirm everything. "

"Well, let's see how you are doing then," said the doctor as she got up from her chair and led us into a small exam room. I sat off to the side as I watched her take Bella's blood pressure, check her weight and ask her question upon question, including the date of her last period which was in early May. Dr. Feldman got up and went over to a small computer and typed in some of the information Bella had given her.

"From the information you've provided me, we've got an approximate due date of February 14th. Valentine's Day," she said cheerfully, repeating the information we had learned from Dr. Lewis back in Forks. "Since you are already 14 weeks along, we can run the ultrasound right now if you are feeling up to it."

"Yeah, let's do it," said Bella excitedly as Dr. Feldman smiled happily at both of us.

"Nicole will be back in here in a minute and she will take you to our room where we do the ultrasounds. Don't be nervous, this is exciting Bella." Dr. Feldman was out of the office within seconds and I stood up and went over to Bella, grasping her hand firmly in mine.

"Are you ready?"

"Still nervous, but now it's more of a happy nervous ya know?"

Ten minutes later, we were in a small room and Bella was lying down on the examination table, her shirt bundled up around her breasts. Dr. Feldman seemed encouraged by the fact that Bella was already showing and declared that it wasn't odd for women with smaller frames to show earlier, but she also forewarned us that it could mean there was more than one baby. Bella had drank all of the water that Nicole had told her to when she called the day before to confirm the appointment and I could tell it was having an effect on Bella and she needed to pee.

I gripped tightly onto Bella's hand as I stood beside her as my mind went wild with the possibility of two babies. It had been discussed in passing before but I never took it seriously until the words fell out of Dr. Feldman's mouth. What the hell would I do with two kids? I was already petrified about dealing with one, although I was trying to hide my nervousness from Bella as best as I could.

I felt Bella shudder slightly as Dr. Feldman squeezed some sort of gel on her small stomach and then began moving something that looked like a telephone receiver or wand over her stomach and I sat there staring at Bella, my eyes full with love. She recorded a few things onto her piece of paper and worked silently for a few minutes which made me nervous. Why the hell hadn't she said anything? Was there something wrong?

"There you go… there's the baby," said Dr. Feldman as she pointed towards the screen and Bella and I both looked with wide eyes.

"Holy Fuck," I muttered a little too loudly, although Dr. Feldman just laughed at my reaction. She had clearly dealt with worse before since she just shrugged it off casually.

"There's only one baby," she said as I let out a silent prayer of thanks and continued to listen to her. "There's the heartbeat and it's very strong and healthy."

Bella and I were both just staring at the screen, my heart moving a mile a minute as I listened to Dr. Feldman talk but I wasn't really paying attention. I was too busy staring at the small image on the screen and I think I was completely in shock. That was my baby on the screen that I had made with the love of my life and I suddenly felt the need to sit down.

"Are you okay Edward?" asked Bella as she turned towards me and looked downright giddy with excitement. I watched as Dr. Feldman printed out a few images from the computer that showed the images of the baby on them.

"Yeah… Umm… can you tell what it is?" I asked curiously as Bella tightened her grip on my hand and I leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Dr. Feldman began to move the wand thing over Bella's stomach again and even seemed to press on it a bit harder.

"Yes. Do you want to know?"

Bella and I looked at each other and I recalled previous conversations we had about finding out and I suddenly wasn't sure I was ready. Bella smiled at me and nodded, so I quickly agreed as well. She was so unbelievably happy and beautiful, there was no way I could say no to her, even if I wanted to. "Let's do this." Dr. Feldman handed Bella the small sonogram photos and she clutched them tightly in her small hands as we waited anxiously for word on whether we were having a boy or a girl.

"Alright then," said Dr. Feldman as she moved the wand again around on Bella's stomach and pointed to the screen. "See there?" she asked casually as Bella and I both nodded our heads in acknowledgement, "that means you are having a boy."

_Holy shit, I'm having a son._

**A/N: and now we all know where the title of the story comes from. Yes, I have known from the beginning that they were having a boy and thanks to grtchn for keeping my secret. So, now start offering up baby boy names folks! I have no idea what to call the little Cullen.**


	26. New York City, NY to Hell

**A/N: Huge thanks to my beta MaggieMay14 for her quick turn around on this chapter. It's because of her diligence that you guys are getting it so quickly. **

**Thanks to everyone for the baby name suggestions. One has been chosen and will be revealed down the road. I was shocked how many people want me to use Mason, Masen, Anthony or Edward. I'm sorry to say I would rather call their son Renesmee than any of those. I wanted something a little more original and fitting to Edward and Bella. Those that know the name will agree that it is perfect for them. **

**Why don't we move onto the drama alright?**

**I don't own twilight, I did see the Kings of Leon in concert on Saturday and they rocked. They played all my favorite songs and opened with Closer. I was so excited I almost peed myself! **

**BPOV**

"I feel fucking horrible," I said as I slipped my shoes on in our hotel room and then sat down on the edge of the bed, not really caring if my new dress got wrinkled.

"Why?"

"I'm the maid of honor and I am completely not interested in going to this party," I said coolly as Edward looked in the mirror and adjusted his tie. Once we had agreed to go to this fuckery that will be Emmett and Rosalie's engagement party, Alice had shown up the next day with a dress for me and a suit for Edward, complete with a tie that matched my dress. It was hideous how perfectly they matched and it made me even more reluctant about going. "Do I look pregnant in this?"

"Phew," said Edward as he mocked wiping his brow. "At least you didn't ask if you looked fat in it."

"Do I look fat in it?"

"Fuck no. You also don't look pregnant. Can we agree that you will never ask me that question again?" Edward practically begged of me as I stood up and corrected his tie once more before kissing him gently.

"I was kidding. I mean, I can't drink tonight, so I might as well try to get a laugh through it all," I announced as there was a sudden knock on the door. Edward opened it and we found Jasper and Alice on the other side, looking just as miserable as us. "You will be drinking for me tonight right?" I asked Jasper as he nodded his head, albeit reluctantly.

"My only concern about drinking for two will be if their Aunt Eunice finds me and tries to grope me like she did at Alice's graduation party. I'm still scarred for life and Alice isn't allowed to touch the left cheek," he said with a sigh as he turned around and did a quick grope of his own ass. Edward rolled his eyes as I grabbed my purse and we headed out into the hallway.

"She's not that bad," sighed Alice as she laughed slightly at her boyfriend.

"You don't know Alice. She didn't grope you. You don't know," Jasper emphasized and I kinda felt bad for the guy. I had heard some horror stories about their family over the years, but this was the first time most of them would be in the same place at once. I don't think it helped matters that we were combining their entire family with Rosalie's. Tonight was definitely going to be interesting.

The four of us had agreed that for the sake of our sanities, we should stay away from the Cullen house overnight. Rosalie and Emmett were staying there and even though there was plenty of room, we were all avoiding spending too much time with the happy couple or Esme and Carlisle.

As we waited for the valet in front of our hotel, Edward and Alice began trading barbs about some of their more interesting family members. "What about Uncle Roy?" asked Alice as I looked at her, my eye brow cocked and Jasper broke into laughter.

"I am certain he will be wearing some sort of plaid suit with patches on the elbows of his jacket and smoking a pipe," said Edward as he turned towards me and wrapped his arm protectively over my shoulder. "Please do your best to stay away from him. He's a breast man and will probably stare at your rack all night."

"I thought your family had money?" I asked curiously as Jasper broke out laughing.

"Money doesn't buy you class or manners though. Carlisle's family was bootleggers back in the prohibition era and eventually turned it into a successful and legitimate business. Unfortunately, the family is still all fucking drunks."

"What about Esme's family?" I asked, feeling suddenly nervous. This was going to be World War III and I was so ill prepared. Jasper's car showed up a moment later and we all piled in as they told me all about how Esme's family came from old money and were kinda stuck up, so it would be an interesting night as the rednecks met the tactless.

As we pulled in the gates of the Cullen mansion, Alice turned to me and looked very concerned. "Are you guys telling the family about the baby?" I looked at Edward, my eyes wide with worry. We hadn't discussed it. What the hell were we going to do? "I can tell by the look on your face that the answer is 'I have no fucking idea'. So can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

"I think for the sake of the evening, we should not mention the baby or your engagement. Rosalie has been so tense this week, I have a feeling she will freak out Exorcist style if something happened to ruin the night or upstage her," advised Alice as I looked at Edward who nodded his head.

"Well, we are going to take Mom and Dad aside to let them know about the baby. I think they should know it's healthy and a boy right?" said Edward tentatively. He clearly wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to discuss anything with his parents, especially our son.

"Fine, tell them about the little slugger, but do it before the party gets too packed," said Alice as I looked at her and she smiled at me.

"Alrighty then, this is Rosalie's night. You better be prepared to drink like a motherfucker Whitlock," I called to him as I heard him groan from the driver's seat.

"As long as you are prepared to pull over to the side of the road to let me puke on the way home. This might be my car, but puke smell still sucks three weeks later and I do not want to deal with that shit." I rolled my eyes as we pulled in front of the house and wasn't overly surprised to see all the cars already there and a valet waiting to open the door for me.

When we all got out of the car, we stood there staring at the house like it was the first time we had been there, rather than it being a house Edward and Alice had grown up in. "Let's get this night over with," declared Edward as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we headed up the steps into the house. As expected, Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie and Emmett greeted us at the door.

"Well good evening," said Carlisle as Esme and Rosalie both seemed to glare. Thankfully, there were some people entering from right behind us, so they decided not to make a scene. Unfortunately, the look on Rosalie's face was one which was clearly saying 'it's about time you got here.' "Are you two going to be standing with us, greeting guests?"

"Do Rosalie and Emmett want us to do that?" questioned Edward coldly. Apparently Rosalie's frustration with me had made its way into Edward's relationship with Emmett and as I looked between the brothers, I could already sense the tension. The one night I wished above all others that I could drink, and I couldn't.

"No, it's fine. Go inside and enjoy the party. Uncle Roy was already asking for you," said Rosalie with a snide laugh as she glared at Edward. We turned and headed into the living room which was transformed into a huge formal party. There were flowers covering almost every surface with candles adorning each table and as I saw one of Edward's relatives spill their drink, I instantly thought the entire party was a fire hazard. There was at least a hundred people milling around the main floor and there was even a table set up with presents. I immediately felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach when I set my eyes on it.

"We didn't get them…" I began to say as Alice sauntered over to the table and put an envelope on it.

"I got them a hotel room for the weekend in New York. You guys owe me three hundred bucks for your part," she said with a laugh as I hugged her tightly and thanked her profusely for including Edward and me in her gift. Apparently she decided that since we were already overwhelmed with the baby, the engagement and just getting home from the trip, she figured we would probably forget something like that. Thank god for Alice.

Edward and I walked around the party for a little bit, doing our best to avoid his nosy family. He had the waiter bringing me glasses of apple juice so it looked like I was celebrating with the rest of the family by drinking champagne. It was just after eight when I noticed Edward's parents had finally left their station by the front door. "I think we should go talk to them."

"Why? The night has been perfect thus far. No Uncle Roy. No Great Aunt Sylvia asking me inappropriate questions about my underwear and most importantly, no dealing with my mother," said Edward with a laugh as I noticed his parents approaching us from the other side of the room. "Aw fuck."

"We have to do it eventually, better sooner rather than later right?" I questioned as Edward reluctantly nodded his head.

"Edward… Bella, you both look well," said his mother as she approached and raised her eye brow as she noticed the drink in my hand.

"It's juice," I said quickly as they both nodded their heads and any sign of concern disappeared. Did they really think I was stupid enough to drink while I was pregnant? "How about we go in Carlisle's office and talk for a few minutes?"

Everyone nodded their heads and I felt like I was playing the peacekeeper as they all followed me from the grand living room and into Carlisle's office down the hallway. When we stepped inside and I flicked on the light, the office looked the same as I always remembered it, but it felt so different this time around. Carlisle took his usual seat and Esme stood behind him and I immediately felt like I was about to be chastised for something that wasn't my fault. So rather than sit there and let them get the upper hand, Edward and I chose to stand and I started talking first.

"I'm not sure what is going on between you two," I said calmly as I motioned between Edward and Esme. "However, I think for the sake of everyone including your future grandchild, you should get over whatever it is."

"Bella, they refuse to let us make our own decisions. We're engaged, we're having a baby and we have been together for four fucking years, yet even though they act all excited about the changes in our life they are still trying to control me like I was a twelve year old boy," snapped Edward as I saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the back of the chair in front of him.

I wasn't surprised that Carlisle sat quietly in his chair as Esme spoke up. "We just think it is more responsible of you to be married first before the baby comes. Don't you want it to have the Cullen last name?"

"Do you honestly think I would name the baby 'Swan'?" I asked angrily as I felt Edward's hand begin moving soothingly along the small of my back. "I am in a deeply committed relationship and this child," I said as I began to rub my stomach sweetly, "has always been a Cullen in my eyes."

The room suddenly went quiet and we all stared at one another for what seemed like ages before Edward spoke. "You may not agree with what Bella and I do, but you have to realize that we are doing what is best for us. You didn't question us when we bought a place together and that was a major decision."

"Edward, I am wholeheartedly behind every single one of your decisions, from moving in with Bella to marrying her to having a child. I just think you will regret not being married beforehand."

Carlisle suddenly grabbed Esme's arm and she grew silent. I was shocked when he decided to speak next. "We know about Vegas."

"Excuse me?" Edward choked out as I suddenly sat down in the chair opposite of Carlisle, fearing my legs were going to give out. Esme got a slightly smug grin on her face and I suddenly realized that she wasn't really upset with us; she was just trying to get us to admit what really happened when we were in Vegas. "Who told you about Las Vegas?"

"Does the name Claire ring a bell?" added Esme as I suddenly felt the urge to vomit. I put my head between my legs and Edward rushed over and began rubbing my back again. The fucking wedding coordinator had ratted us out? What the hell? "She mentioned it to the concierge, who has helped me on many occasions whenever we were in town and stayed at the Venetian. Henry called to offer us congratulations and needless to say your father and I were a little surprised."

I lifted my head from my lap as I looked at Edward and he nodded his head slowly. He was about to speak when in walked Rosalie and Emmett, with Alice and Jasper right behind them. "We tried to keep Rosalie away, I promise," said Alice as she sounded out of breath. "She's surprisingly quickly in those hooker heels."

"Hey," said Rosalie angrily to Alice as she took offence at her comment about her footwear. "We just wanted to make sure no blood was being shed on my special… I mean _our _special night." I rolled my eyes at Rose, because I expected nothing less from her. She had been a great friend throughout college, but on the first day we met she told me she would always choose Edward over me. I should have known that even though we were close, I was never that important to her.

"While you are all here, there is something we need to say. Close the door please Jazz," I looked over at Edward again and I stood up and gripped his hand in mine. I was nervous, but I didn't care anymore about what they thought and what their reactions were going to be.

**EPOV**

Why the hell couldn't the ground just open up and swallow me whole? That would rock right about now. When Bella announced that there was something we needed to say, I immediately felt sick to my stomach. We had agreed not to say anything because we simply feared the wrath of our family and based on their expressions right now, we were right to hold back. We both knew they wouldn't agree with our choices or how we went about doing things, but we had our reasons for everything.

"We should go," said Alice as she grabbed Jasper by the forearm and tried to drag him out of the room. Of course, as I had expected, Bella insisted that she stay. I glanced at Bella's face, her hand still clutched tightly in mine and when I saw the look of sheer mortification on her face, I just blurted it out.

"We're already married."

The room fell eerily silent and I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist as she pulled the necklace from around her neck, which held her platinum wedding band. Alice and Jasper looked at us with surprise, but seemed happy. Even my mother and father seemed surprisingly pleased, but Rosalie was another issue altogether.

"Did you have to do this tonight?" she said as she blindsided Bella with her obvious anger. I felt Bella grip my hand tighter and noticed her teeth were clenched. In an effort to relieve some of her stress, I decided to speak first.

"We didn't plan to say anything to anyone until after your wedding, but Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew over here figured out that something happened in Vegas. Rather than argue with them at length, we were going to tell and then ask them to keep it under wraps, until you guys barged in here effectively ruining our plans," I replied snidely. I hugged Bella tighter to my side in an effort to reassure her that there was nothing wrong with how we went about everything. Our friends and family might not approve, but it's our life and our choices.

"So, there's not gonna be a big wedding?" asked Alice, sounding a bit disappointed. Bella shook her head from side to side and Alice just lowered her head slightly. "I was kinda looking forward to helping with that one."

"And you don't like helping with mine?" snapped Rosalie towards Alice, who simply laughed as Emmett held Rosalie back.

"I'm not helping with yours Rosalie. You are a Bridal Hitler and you shout shit at us and expect us to bend to your every will. Every single time you worry about something, you call every single person you have ever met to get reassurance. I even had to talk you out of calling Bella on Wednesday to ask her about potentially color-coordinating the waiters to the flowers and you scoffed when I reminded you she was due for her ultrasound," finished Alice as I narrowed my eyes at Rosalie, who had clearly turned into a selfish bitch since she had gotten engaged to my brother.

"Is that true?" croaked Bella quietly, clearly upset that Rosalie wasn't concerned about what Bella and I had going on in our own life.

"No. Not exactly true. You should have been done your appointment by then," said Rosalie shyly, as though she was attempting to backtrack from what Alice had said. "Anyways, the baby won't be here for like seven more months. There are only a few months till the wedding and we need to go over some things before then."

"It takes months of planning for a baby Rosalie. It's not just that you deliver it in a hospital and it's there. It's kinda like a wedding where you have things to plan and buy in advance. Car seats, cribs, clothing, diapers. We need to decide on birthing plans, breastfeeding options and childcare. You also need to take care of yourself, something which Bella suffers because she stresses over every single thing you ask of her," I snapped as Emmett glared at me for a moment before opening his mouth, something I hoped he wasn't going to do, since I knew he would support Rosalie.

"Planning a wedding is important Edward," he began to say as I interrupted him. He had no doubt been brainwashed into his way of thinking because he spent months listening to Rosalie yammer on about random shit pertaining to their wedding.

"Oh and creating life isn't?" I retorted; the fury clear on my face as Jasper came to stand beside me.

"This baby is an accident and I have no idea why you decided to keep it. You guys are too young to be raising a kid."

"Ohh, so the truth comes out. What else do you want to tell me big brother? That I can't handle the responsibility of being a husband and a father? That I'm going to be as shitty as our dad was? Bella and I are in this with our whole hearts and it's clear you don't support us, so why should we support you? This baby isn't an accident, it's a blessing."

"You don't realize what you are getting into Edward."

"Tell me oh wise one, what the hell should I do? Leave Bella because she's pregnant? Beg her to get an abortion like you did with Rosalie when you were in your first year of college and she was a knocked up high school senior?" I smirked slightly as the words fell from my mouth. Alice had accidently told me about Rosalie's pregnancy when she got drunk before I left for Europe four years ago and I had promised not to tell anyone. However, today is just sort of came out, I didn't think of the consequences and hoped Alice wouldn't be mad at me. I felt bad saying it now, but I was not Emmett and I was certainly not my father; I would be there for my son. Jasper came to stand between us when he noticed Emmett stalking towards me, his fists raised slightly. I looked over at my parents and the disappointment was clear on their face. "I guess mom and dad didn't know huh?"

"You're an asshole," said Emmett as he growled at me but Jasper kept him at bay.

"No, I'm afraid that award goes to you and your self-involved fiancée." I gripped Bella's hand and pulled her towards the door where Alice was still standing, watching everything in shock. I grabbed Bella's small clutch and pulled out the ultrasound picture we had brought to give my parents. "You should find yourself a new best man and maid of honor. We're not going to your fucking wedding."

I tossed the small scrap of paper on the desk, much to the dismay of my parents, who no doubt assumed we were being unreasonable. However, the smile on Bella's face showed me that we were in the same boat. Neither of us needed the drama that Em and Rose's wedding and behavior was causing us. I watched as my father picked up the paper and showed it to my mother, who's fingers moved reverently over the image before her. "You're going to have a grandson by the way. Sorry about tonight, but we're leaving. Oh and don't bother to send us any wedding gifts, we don't fucking want them."

As Bella and I walked into the hallway, I felt Alice and Jasper trailing behind us. "Let's go," said Jasper as he pulled the valet ticket from his pocket and Bella and I led the way outside. Uncle Roy was coming in from having a smoke but we effectively dodged him when Rosalie came bounding out of my father's office screaming.

"You are such an ungrateful bastard Edward Cullen," she yelled out as I rolled my eyes. Rosalie hadn't realized that no one in the family knew anything and she was basically ruining her own party by opening her huge mouth. "You couldn't let _my_ engagement party go smoothly could you?"

"I thought it was for you and Emmett?" snapped Bella, clearly noticing the way Rosalie said 'my' as opposed to 'our'. "You know what; I am so relieved that Edward and I got married in Vegas because our wedding was just for us, not for anyone else." I looked around and noticed that a lot of our family had come out from the main living room as they overheard Rosalie shouting at me. They all stood with their mouths wide open in shock.

"Yes folks, I finally married Bella, almost a month ago in Vegas. She's also having my baby… a boy due in February. How's that for ruining your party Rosalie? Now no one will give a shit about you and they will all be talking about us and the baby," I said with a evil chuckle as Jasper appeared by the front door. "Oh and by the way, we didn't want to say anything about the wedding because we didn't want to upstage you Rosalie. It was all Bella's idea because she cared about her friend. It's funny how she cared too much about your feelings, but you clearly don't give a shit about hers."

"Cars ready," Jasper shouted out as I gripped Bella's hand in mine and we walked away, the whispers amongst the family getting louder. "That was classic. I thought Rosalie was going to puke and then her head was going to spin around."

I helped Bella into the backseat of the car and then climbed in beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder as she rested her head on my shoulder. "I knew we shouldn't have come to Boston this weekend." I ran my fingers casually through her hair as I tried to soothe her. Lord knows all this drama wasn't good for the baby.

We weren't even out of the driveway yet when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket and I noticed it was my mother calling. "Yes," I said stoically as Bella raised her eye brows at me in curiosity. I covered the phone and quickly mouthed 'mom' to her as she nodded in acknowledgement. I was surprised that my mother didn't say anything, so I decided to speak. "Did you want something?"

"I'm sorry about tonight," she said with a loud sigh. I could hear my father in the background and laughed slightly. "We didn't mean to upset you or Bella; we just hoped you would have told us about the wedding."

"Yeah well, we're not as mad at you guys for cornering us the way you did. We're mad at Rosalie and Emmett for treating us like shit. Bella has been nothing but accommodating for Rosalie and her crazy wedding, but we still get treated with no respect. I was serious when I said we weren't coming to the wedding. Bella will be seven months pregnant and won't need the aggravation."

"We don't need to discuss it tonight Edward, but I think you will regret not going to their wedding, just like your father and I regret not being there for yours," said my mother and my heart ached for a moment. I knew they would be disappointed that we did it without them, but after all the drama surrounding Rosalie and Emmett's wedding, I was glad we did it our way. I had no regrets.

"Yeah well, if he apologizes and his fiancée lays off the crack, then maybe we'll reconsider. I hope you enjoy the rest of the night and that we didn't ruin it," I said sincerely as my mother laughed heavily.

"Uncle Roy is angry he never met your bride," she added as I heard my father call him a lush in the background. "Oh and by the way, thank you so much for the ultrasound photo. You're going to be an excellent father Edward."

"Thanks," I said quietly as we then said our goodbyes and I noticed Bella was asleep beside me. We pulled into the hotel parking lot less than half an hour later and I took her upstairs to our room, supporting her weight the entire way since she was so tired. I laid her down on our bed and pulled her shoes off first, before unzipping her dress.

"I'm sorry about tonight," she whispered quietly as I tugged her dress off slowly, revealing her lacy bra and panty set and her small baby bump. I kneeled down beside her as she turned onto her side, her stomach facing me as I kissed her temple lightly.

"You have no reason to apologize. Everyone else was being completely unreasonable. The only thing I want us to focus on right now and us, finding a new place to live, starting our jobs and getting ready for the peanut," I said as I leaned forward and kissed her stomach gently. "Nothing else matters to me."

**A/N: Before you guys ask… yes there will be an outtake of their wedding night. I know it will be up before the end of the story, I'm just not sure when.**

**Don't forget the Esme contest... the link is on my profile. We have some fuckawesome authors who have contributed and several more who have expressed interest! I can't show preference since I'm running the thing, but let me tell you they are all hot as hell!**


	27. Manhattan to Bedford

**A/N: Holy crow, CPW is almost back to updating his bitch twice a week. Yeah yeah, don't move to fast. My husband is finally moving to Canada as of tomorrow, so updates will slow down a little bit, plus work has picked up, so I need to focus on that shit too. I am now going to try to update once a week, for all three active stories. Pray for me.**

**I'm so glad everyone loved the shit that hit the fan last chapter. Thanks as per usual for my fuckawesome beta MaggieMay14 who works for a book distributor and got me a copy of the New Moon Movie Companion already (at a discount woo hoo!) oh and she beta'd this quickly too. Also much love to the usual crew and the girls over on twitter.**

**I don't own twilight; I do however have a 3 year old daughter who has refused to wear clothes all day.**

**BPOV**

A month and a half later and here we stood in the foyer of a grand looking brownstone in Brooklyn. It was for sale and the real estate agent we found on our own, forgoing the one that Emmett and Rosalie were using, seemed to think this place was something we were interested in. "Are you blind?" Edward asked as I snickered beside him and watched as he looked at the rather intimate looking mural on the ceiling. "That looks like a painting of people engaging in fellatio on the ceiling. We may be young, but we aren't stupid."

I giggled again and my cheeks no doubt turned pink as I blushed and the agent led us out the door and back to her car. We drove a few miles away and when we got out of the car, I was already grinning from ear to ear. It was a townhome in the Bedford neighborhood and it had a really cute dark brown brick exterior with a small rot iron fence leading up to the stairs. "You like it already don't you?" asked Edward as I nodded my head, wondering how the hell he could tell already.

"Why don't we go check it out inside before you draw up some papers," laughed Heidi, the real estate agent. This was our third weekend of looking at houses and this place was probably number twenty five. Edward and I had been getting a bit frustrated with the search because we wanted to move in before Thanksgiving and the longer it took us to find something suitable, the less likely that seemed.

I listened intently as Heidi began telling us how the house was over a hundred years old and the recent owners were retiring to their vacation home in Florida and wanted to sell quickly. They had done massive renovations in the place and it showed, with the new hardwood flooring across the main level and all the upgraded appliances in the fabulously huge kitchen.

It had four decent sized bedrooms on the three levels, but the paint choices left a bit to be desired. "Is that candy apple red?" I asked as I looked at the dining room with a bit of disdain.

"Yes, but all the moldings all original. The red is nothing a little elbow grease can't fix," she said sweetly as I looked over at Edward, my one eye brow raised quizzically.

"We'd hire painters of course. There's no way I'm doing it and you definitely can't do it in your condition," he said sweetly as we climbed the stairs to the next level and his hand moved over my stomach casually, which he did very often. The baby bump had gotten bigger, but it wasn't overly noticeable unless I was wearing something tight, which was rarely the case.

"The yellow has to go first," I exclaimed as I turned around within the massive master bedroom on the third floor. It had wonderful views of the backyard and the nearby park, but the thing that sold me was the original fireplace with a dark mahogany mantle. It was stunning and I could picture Edward and me making love on the floor in front of it on a frequent basis. "The bathroom is nice though," I added as I peeked my head in and appreciated the white tiles and lovely pedestal sink.

"All the bathroom floors are heated," Heidi said casually as my eyes grew wide.

"Really? That is pretty extravagant don't you think?"

"Do you like the rest of the house Bella?" Edward asked as I nodded my head again. "Then don't you think you can put up with something as fancy as heated floors for the sake of the house?"

"Well yeah, but…" I began to say as Edward's index finger was resting above my lips, silencing me.

"How much are they asking?" Edward asked Heidi as he then wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side.

"799,000."

"That's it?" Edward exclaimed, sounding very surprised. "This is the best out of all the ones we've seen and to be honest, I can see the little peanut playing in the backyard while you make fresh cookies in the oven," he added as I felt him kiss the edge of my mouth. "We're going to put in an offer."

"Wishful thinking if you assume I'm gonna make fresh cookies. Nothing but Pillsbury for my boys," I laughed as Heidi turned to us with a smile.

"Are you guys pre-approved for your mortgage already? If not, I know a great mortgage broker," she began to say as I noticed Edward roll his eyes at the mere consideration of taking a mortgage.

"It's a non-issue. We'll be paying cash," he said as Heidi's eyes grew wide. The real estate agent we used when we got the condo reacted almost the same way. Heidi started going off on a tangent about possibly getting the price lowered because we would be paying cash, rather than financing through a bank and cutting out the middle man. We moved down to the main floor and sat in the hideous red dining room as we discussed the offer and I let Edward do all the talking. I would generally put up a fuss over the amount of money that was being spent, but this was New York and this place was so beautiful I felt like we were getting it for a steal anyways.

It was just after four on the Sunday afternoon when we finally got back to our small apartment. The light on our phone was flashing signaling that we had a message and when Edward went to the phone, he deleted it without even listening to it. "Who was it?"

"Emmett… again," he muttered, his voice suddenly frustrated whereas just minutes earlier he had been excited about putting an offer down on the house.

"Are you ever going to call him back?"

"The moment he and Rosalie say they are sorry. We've listened to the same messages since mid August Bella, and never once did he say anything remotely close to 'we're sorry'. There has been 'call me so we can talk,' 'Rosalie wants to know if you want to have coffee,' and my personal favorite 'don't be such a jackass." I groaned right along with Edward on the last one.

I hadn't talked to Rosalie since the outburst at the engagement party last month, but I apparently didn't hold a grudge as hard as Edward did. Rosalie had sent a few text messages, none of which once said 'I'm sorry' or 'let's talk.' At first they were all wedding related like 'Can you still come to the wedding shower next month' or 'Refresh my memory about which flowers you liked?' I had responded to that one in a fit of rage, telling her I loved dandelions and asked her to stop pretending like nothing was wrong. I didn't hear back from her for almost a week after that one.

Edward and I had enough problems in our lives these days to deal with that we didn't want to worry about the fact that Emmett and Rosalie couldn't pull their heads out of their asses. We had two more appointments with the doctor and everything seemed to be going perfectly fine with the baby. Edward and I spent most of our nights, after making love, discussing baby names and next week we started our pre-natal class, which was going to be held weekly on Tuesday nights. Sometimes I could barely believe that I was already in my 20th week.

In addition to finding somewhere to live and figuring out how to keep the baby alive once it's out of me, Edward and I had both joined the work force. I had started my job as a junior archivist under Carmen Chisholm down at New Museum on Bowery and Edward was doing some contract work as a composer, and loving every minute of it. Of course, besides telling my parents about the wedding, which I was still dreading and had been avoiding like the plague, telling my new boss I was pregnant was even more nerve-wracking.

_I walked into the New Museum early on the Tuesday morning following Labor Day weekend and was greeted by the smiling face of Glen, the security guard who was now a close personal friend. The moment I explained to him why I was here, he directed me towards Carmen's office and let me know to wait for her there. _

_It wasn't the first time I had been to the New Museum; in fact I had been several times a year since I moved to Manhattan, but everything just seemed drastically different now that I was employed by them. I paced nervously outside of her office, clutching my new bag and feeling over dressed in the suit Edward insisted I splurge on. When I saw Carmen walking down the hallway, all my tension immediately eased, but I felt over dressed since she was wearing a nice pair of dress pants and a business casual top. I felt like a lawyer and she looked like my client._

"_Bella, you're early or am I late?" she questioned as she shoved her two bags under her arm to shove her key in the lock and let us into her office, which turned out to look like a bomb had gone off. "Just move some of those things off the chair and give me a few minutes to get a coffee and we can start. Do you want a coffee?_

"_No thank you," I muttered quietly as my insides started screaming for some sort of caffeine fix. "I'm trying to cut back."_

"_Good for you. What about a tea? We have three different kinds and then you have something to hold and things to stir," she said with a laugh. I just nodded my head and followed her down the hallway into the small employee kitchen. She graciously showed me where everything was and when we got back to her office, she handed me a clipboard with all my new employee paperwork._

_I looked down at it nervously and put it on her desk, managing the courage to speak. Edward and I had discussed the situation since we got back from the engagement party in Boston and even though I wanted the job desperately, it wasn't the end of the world if something happened. "So, I need to tell you something important."_

"_You didn't even fill out your name. You aren't quitting before you even start are you? Shit, that would suck," she said crassly as I laughed for a moment before steeling my nerves._

"_No. I'm pregnant. I found out over the summer and I'm due in mid-February. I just didn't want to start work without giving you fair warning," I said as I clutched the arm rest of the chair and watched as Carmen stood from her seat and stood before me, resting her butt against the edge of her desk and crossing her arms. Carmen was a major figure in the New York Art Scene and the fact that I was going to work under her was a major coup when I graduated from Columbia. Now, I just felt like an ass for scoring such an awesome job and coming in on the first day to tell her I got knocked up._

"_Give me a hug," she said as I narrowed my eyes in surprise, but sure enough, she opened her arms out wide and as I stood, she pulled me into a huge hug that rivaled only my father's when he found out I was pregnant. "Do you know what you are having yet?"_

"_A boy. Edward and I call him Peanut, until we can come up with a good name," I admitted as I sat back down, feeling very overwhelmed._

"_Edward would be your boyfriend?"_

"_Husband," I said as I flashed her my hand, which now held both rings, where they belonged._

"_Well shit, good for you girl. We offer daycare subsidies to our full-time employees and maternity benefits, so don't worry about it. It's a bit of a surprise, but having a baby is one of life's miracles and I won't hold it against you," she said with a laugh as she moved back around to the far side of her desk. "And for the record, I think Peanut is as good a name as any, you should consider that."_

_And so began my time working for Carmen. She was flighty, she cursed like a sailor and she didn't ever take 'no' for an answer, but I was learning so much working with her and I found a new appreciation for art every single day._

**EPOV**

One week after we put the offer on the house and after countless negotiations, Bella and I officially became the owners of the brownstone in Bedford. We had arranged to move out of the condo on October 30th, and the current owners of the house had already vacated, so we got painters into the place as soon as we could, with Bella choosing all the colors with the help of Alice and my mother, who came to town especially to help.

My parents were actually on better terms with Bella and me than they were with Emmett and Rosalie. Apparently my little outburst about their abortion a few years ago had fueled some anger in my parents because Em and Rose had been so irresponsible. I think she was simply pissed that Em had never confided in her about such an important thing. I had to let her know that he never talked to me either and that Rosalie had simply told Alice one night and then Alice blabbed it to me while drunk a while ago. Esme seemed disappointed in all of her kids when I mentioned that to her over dinner one night with Jasper, Alice and Bella.

Shortly after the engagement party, Alice backed out from being in the wedding, but agreed to attend, which was something Bella and I had yet to do. I was still waiting for an apology from them for being so self-involved because Em & Rose at their engagement party seemed like completely different people from the Em & Rose we celebrated my birthday with in Chicago. They were much more fun loving and excitable and now it seemed like the weight of the world was on their shoulders.

That Saturday night, after a long afternoon of sorting through our belongings and throwing stuff out, Bella and I had a quick dinner of take out Chinese Food which she followed up with a bath as I took some of the garbage bags out to the dumpster. When I came back into the apartment after cleaning everything up, Bella was standing beside our bed, neatly folding some laundry in the sweetest looking white tank top and short set and I was instantly hard.

I watched her for some time as she simply folded some socks and underwear and what should have been the most mundane thing in the world, suddenly had me craving for my wife. "Are you going to help me or just stand there drooling like an idiot?"

I slowly stalked into the room and stood behind her, my hands firmly on her hips as she folded the last pair of socks and tossed them with the pile. "Thanks for nothing," she laughed as I buried my face into her neck and began kissing her tenderly even though there would be nothing tender about what I was planning to do to her.

"Put your forearms on the bed."

"Excuse me?" she asked as she turned her head around to see my face, which was practically carved of stone at that moment, no expression whatsoever.

"Put your forearms on the bed," I instructed her again and Bella let out a small sigh as she bent forward, her arms now resting on the bed and her ass up in the air slightly. I rubbed my erection against her covered heat before leaning over and whispering into her ear. "I need to fuck you."

Bella gasped as I grabbed the waistband of her shorts and began tugging them down, bending at the knee until I had them pooled around her ankles and her ass was right in my face. "You smell delicious," I said softly as Bella lifted one foot at a time and I pulled the shorts away. "No panties?"

"No," she forced out and I noticed she was as horny as I was. That was certainly one of the benefits of the second trimester of her pregnancy, it seemed like she wanted to have sex all the time. I had been woken up in the middle of the night for sex, given blow jobs in the morning which led to sex and tonight it seemed like it was the first time in ages that I was in charge.

"Good girl," I said as I rubbed her ass firmly for a moment before tugging my own shorts off and releasing my hard cock. I stroked myself with one hand as I ran my finger between her lips to gauge how wet she was. "Jesus Bella, you're dripping wet."

"Fuck me," she growled out as I slipped my cock between her pussy lips and bent at the waist, laying my chest against her back. I wrapped my arms around her body and took her breasts into my hands as I moved my lips beside her ear.

"You want me to fuck you?" I asked breathily as she nodded her head, hitting my shoulder when she moved it backwards. "I've wanted to fuck my _wife_ all damn day."

"Oh fuck," Bella said fiercely as I moved my body back and then slipped my cock effortlessly inside of her. I lifted my back so that I was in full standing position again and grabbed her hips as I began thrusting my cock into her as hard as I could. I wanted to be gentle with her, but thankfully she was in a position that wasn't going to harm the baby at all. Her stomach wasn't even against the bed, just her forearms, so I threw caution to the wind and rammed my dick into her at what seemed like lightening speed.

Within minutes, I was ready to explode, so I slipped my finger beneath Bella and began to flick at her clit teasingly with my finger. "Oh fuck Edward," she groaned as I smirked behind her. I then pinched her clit lightly at first as I felt her shudder.

"Come for me."

"Oh yes."

"Come for me now, Bella," I reiterated as I pushed inside of her one more time and finally released, throwing my head back as I felt her tense around my cock, causing me to come even harder. I pulled Bella down to the floor to sit with me, since the bed was covered in clean laundry and I wrapped my arms firm around her. "I love you."

"I love you too baby," she said and I moved my hand to her stomach, rubbing it gently, like I found myself doing all too often these days. She was showing more than before, but still not a lot. I had to admit, I was kinda looking forward to a few months from now when she was clearly pregnant and everyone could see. "You're putting all the laundry away."

"Not a problem," I said as I wiped my brow quickly and kissed the side of her head. "By the way, did you call your parents?"

"That's just the post fuck talk I want to have Edward," she said with a sigh as I stroked her hair away from her neck and onto her shoulder. I rested my head in the crook of her neck and kissed her lightly.

"Bella, my parents have known for almost two months that we are married, you've got to tell Renee and Charlie."

Bella turned in my lap and faced me, a sad frown on her face which I wanted to kiss away. I hated seeing her disappointed or sad, it broke my heart. "I can't do it on the phone Edward. This isn't just the kind of thing you do. I just can't call my mom on the phone and say 'Guess what… I got married in Vegas and didn't tell you. Now you can't have that wedding at the Elk's Lodge like you always dreamed," she said with a small laugh as I began rubbing my hand against the small of her back.

"You're mother is a fairly reasonable person," I said as we looked at each other and we both snorted. "Okay, you're mother is clinically insane and has multiple personalities, however, I think even she can see the happiness that we have brought each other. We need to bite the bullet and get it over with."

"Yeah, especially since Alice dropped the announcement cards here today. It would be just my luck that the Weber's received theirs in the mail and then Reverend Weber told my mom about it and she started taking the lord's name in vain," she said with a nervous laugh. "He'd probably drag her down to the lake to absolve her of her sins." I laughed at the imagery Bella presented me with, but I could tell she was still nervous.

"How about this… we're going back to Forks for Thanksgiving, so we can tell them in person. Does that work for you?" I asked as Bella nestled her head into my chest and nodded slowly. I wasn't exactly thrilled by the fact that by the time we got to Forks for Thanksgiving we would have been married for over four months. I'm sure the moment her parents realized that fact, they would shit a brick, but this was Bella's choice and I was trying to be supportive.

"When do we have to send out the announcements?"

"Alice said the sooner the better, but I was thinking we could just send them all to your family and then put a blurb in the Forks paper announcing our wedding," suggested Bella as I quickly agreed since it sounded like the easiest option at this point in time. "Alice added on the announcement that we didn't want any gifts, but preferred donations to the 'Rosalie Hale is a bitch Foundation."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"No. We asked for donations to go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. What the hell are we going to do with another blender?" Bella said with a giggle.

"Or a waffle maker?"

"Or what about some fancy china? Your mother already told me I was getting your Great Grandmother Cullen's china, although what the hell we'll do with it, I have no idea," she admitted as I kissed her cheek.

"Well that's simple baby. We'll use them when we host dysfunctional family dinners in our bright red dining room." Bella punched me lightly on the shoulder and I kissed her again before helping her up from our spot on the floor.

Once we had both relaxed from our intense fuck session, Bella went into the bathroom to get freshened up and I put away all the laundry that was on our bed. There were boxes everywhere in the apartment and we only had two and a half weeks until we officially moved. Bella had hired movers and was coordinating everything, but we were doing our best to pack everything ourselves. So, as I waited for Bella, I started to put away a bunch of CD's from our living room into a medium sized box.

"Are you packing at nine-thirty at night?" asked Bella as she came back into the living room just as there was a loud knock on the door.

"I know you guys are in there," called Emmett's voice as I made Bella stay by the couch and I hesitantly went to answer the door.

"Hi," I said stoically as Emmett charged into the apartment without even waiting to be asked. Previously this wouldn't have bothered me, but since he still hadn't apologized for the engagement party thing, I was feeling kind of pissed. "Can we help you?"

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Emmett asked as I squinted and took in his face. He looked positively ruined and Bella was quick to come over and give him a hug.

"What happened?" she questioned as I finally closed the door as I watched my brother hug my wife tightly and then I heard what sounded like crying. Even though I was furious, my heart broke a little bit as I listened to him speak, clearly crushed.

"Rosalie and I broke up."

**A/N: Fic Rec time: Meant to be by juliebee is awesome beans. I stayed up late last night reading that bad boy and was disappointed when I found out it's only 10 chapters in. **

**Tides by lambcullen is super awesome as well, ripe with UST and Erectionward, which is as good as it sounds.**

**Also, go check out 'Age of Consent: My Summer as a Legal Intern' by littesecret84. Yes, Bella is younger than Edward, but they are so cute, I can't find it in me to care.**


	28. Bedford, NY to Moving Day

**A/N: I know, I've been slack on updating this thing lately, but RL and all that shit right? I actually wrote a one shot with a friend for the Anonymous 80's Contest hosted by Naughty Heels. They are listed as one of my favorite authors, so go on over to the profile and try to figure out which story is ours. Every entry I have read has rocked.**

**Thanks to be my beta MaggieMay14 for not only betaing this chapter for me, but also ordering me tickets to New Moon! Woo Hoo!**

**BPOV**

For the next two days I had an immovable object on my couch, which really sucked. Sure, I felt kinda bad for the guy for ending things with the Bridezilla from Hell that Rosalie had morphed into, but I didn't want him taking up residence in my living room. "You know we are moving soon right Em? I don't think the moving company will take too kindly to carrying your ass on the couch to the moving van."

Edward scoffed from the kitchen where he was busy making us a huge plate of nachos after I made a quick comment about craving tortilla chips and cheese.

"I just need a few more days Bella. I promise I will get out of your hair soon," Emmett said as he offered me his best puppy dog pout. This wasn't the first time it had been used or that phrase had been uttered, but it was the last time I would bend because of it.

"Off the damned couch. At least go take a shower or something man, it's been two days and I'm not even sure when you showered last." Emmett glared at me reluctantly, but I considered it a small miracle when he finally lifted his ass off the couch and padded off towards the shower. When I finally heard the water turn on, I immediately turned to Edward, with my hands placed firmly on my hips in defiance.

"You have to do something. I can't handle it anymore," I admitted reluctantly as Edward pushed the nachos across the counter, as if those would quell the anxiety I had about his brother squatting in our soon to be former apartment. Unfortunately, the nachos looked and smelled really good, so I began to dig in, much to the amusement of my husband. "I understand that you and Emmett have made amends for the whole engagement party debacle, but he cannot continue to live here."

"What should I do then Bella? Kick out my older, heartbroken brother?" Actually, that was exactly what I wanted him to do, but the way he said it made me seem like a complete bitch.

"I am just tired of him living on our couch and avoiding Rosalie. There are Pringles containers and empty Coke cans everywhere and I think I found part of a sandwich under the table yesterday. I'm not entirely sure what it was since it was green," I admitted reluctantly as Edward's eyes grew wide in shock at my discovery. "I understand his heartbreak since I went through it when we were apart so long ago, but he needs to do something about it. Either move on or get her back."

"I agree sweetie," said Edward as he came behind me and wrapped his arm around what used to be my waist and was now just my protruding stomach. "I think I've found a way to make both of our dreams come true, but it means coming face to face with a nightmare first."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked curiously. As though called on by a higher power, someone knocked on our door and I stared at Edward anxiously as he went to open it. Rosalie stood on the other side, looking nothing like the woman we once knew. Her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, she had huge bags under her eyes and literally looked broken. I felt some of the anger I had felt towards her suddenly fade away; however, until she actually apologized it would never truly be gone.

She didn't say anything when she first came into the room, at Edward's insistence. She didn't look around for Emmett, most likely unaware that he was even staying here on our little couch. Instead, I couldn't help but notice that her eyes focused on my ever expanding stomach. "You look good."

"Thanks. I wish I could say the same to you," I joked lightly as she gave me a small but tentative smile. "Have you heard of sleep? I hear it's all the rage with the kids these days."

"How come even though I've been a complete bitch to you for the past little while, you can still lighten the mood with jokes? I've missed that. I've missed you," explained Rosalie as I motioned for her to sit on the couch, which Emmett had vacated only five minutes ago. My heart feeling slightly pleased to hear that she had at least missed me.

"Let's blame the pregnancy hormones for my jokes. Perhaps today I just feel like being nice," I said genuinely as Edward groaned behind me. Rosalie and I sat down on the couch together and the tension in the air was suddenly thick. Rosalie was the first to speak, for which I was slightly relived.

"I'm sorry about the engagement party," she began as she reached over and grabbed my hand in hers. I didn't pull away. "I don't want to lay blame on anyone else, but I'll just say I am envious that you and Edward eloped. I love Emmett with all of my heart, but the pressure of this wedding is making me crack."

I reached over and gave Rosalie a tentative hug. At least she apologized, I thought to myself as I felt and heard her begin to cry. "I can't believe I let all of this wedding shit get in between you, me, Edward and Emmett. We were so close back in college and it was like the moment our engagement was announced, I began to alienate everyone close to me, even my best friend and my fiancée."

"Listen Rose, I didn't appreciate the way you confronted us at the engagement party, but I can understand the pressure you are under," I admitted genuinely. "You could have handled everything so much better. I would have started by not ruining your own party by confronting us about nothing in the front hallway. The fact that you thought we would purposely spoil your engagement party is laughable."

"I know. I shouldn't have accused you guys of trying to trash the party for starters," Rosalie said as I felt slightly relieved. She was right though, she shouldn't have said anything at the time. "I also shouldn't have come into the office and busted up your conversation with Esme and Carlisle. I don't even know why I did it to tell you the truth."

"Yeah, I must admit, as I've stewed about the situation for the past few weeks, I couldn't help but wonder what the fuck was going through your head that night," I said stoically, awaiting her response. I had many a restless night while trying to determine what the hell she had been thinking that night and never once could I come up with a plausible reason.

"I have no good reason for my outburst. I was so worried about the party coming off without a hitch that I assumed that anything that could go wrong… would go wrong. I think I believed all the crap my mother was feeding me about me not being good enough to be a Cullen and I was trying to over compensate," she said and I felt extremely bad for her. I had only met her mother once, but to say she was overbearing would have been a compliment.

"You shouldn't let your mother run the show Rosalie. You have a wedding planner, why the fuck aren't you using her?" I asked anxiously as she played with the end of her ponytail nervously.

"She quit."

"Why the fuck did she quit?" shouted Edward from the kitchen as he gripped the plate of nachos and brought them to me on the couch. I was surprised that he was finally adding his two cents to the conversation.

"Let's just say my mother scared her to death," she said with the tears now flowing more freely as she clutched at my maternity shirt and I pulled her back against me. "If you think I was a Bridezilla, let me tell you that my mother was a Mother of the Bride Nazi."

Rosalie then launched into several different horror stories involving her mother, their wedding planner and herself, all of which resulted in Rosalie crying even more. I felt bad for her, even if her comments at her engagement party were a bit devastating. I noticed Emmett come out of our bathroom fully dressed, but based on how Rosalie was sitting she couldn't see him.

"Rosalie, you need to ask yourself what the hell it is you want," I explained to her with a small hug. "The only thing Edward and I cared about was being together. What our parents wanted was of little consequence when we made our decision to get married in Las Vegas back in July. Follow your heart."

Rosalie nodded her head and looked at me with fierce determination in her eyes. "All I want is Emmett back. We can run off to Vegas and elope like you guys and I would be the happiest girl in the world," she said as Emmett walked further into the living room and began to speak.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me this two weeks ago before I left the apartment?"

Rosalie was quick to jump up off of the couch and looked shocked to see Emmett standing beside Edward in the kitchen. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, sounding defensive instead of relieved that Emmett was there. "I thought you were at your parents place in Boston."

"Why the hell would you think I was in Boston?" questioned Emmett as he crossed his arms over his chest, also in a defensive pose. I was on the verge of forgiving Rosalie for all of her comments and mistakes, but suddenly Emmett looked like he wasn't going to do the same. _Jesus Christ, would I never get this man off of my couch?_

"Okay, perhaps I should turn all Dr. Phil on the both of you," piped up Edward as I laughed at the thought of him mediating the romantic entanglements of his older brother and potential sister-in-law. "You love each other, so get off your fucking high horses and do something about it. My wife and I are frustrated by the ass groove that Emmett is forming in our couch. We are moving in a week and the last thing we need to worry about is the fact that the two of you seem completely unable to converse like fucking adults."

Emmett looked at Edward with disdain, probably because Edward was finally saying the things I had been saying to him for the past week. "Can we go talk in the bedroom?" asked Rosalie as she looked at Emmett with a small smile on her hopeful face. I nodded my head and she led the way as Emmett followed. I was hopeful that they would manage to sort out their differences, but I didn't see the same hope on Emmett's face.

Edward and I finished off the nachos on the couch as we watched part of the Jets game on the TV. We weren't really focused on the football game though since there was too much yelling and screaming coming from our room. I wasn't able to grasp everything, but there was definitely some sort of arguing going on about the fact that Rosalie wasn't honest with Em about what she wanted for the wedding and there might have been some discussion about her mother being an overbearing shrew.

After several minutes, there was silence. "Do you think they killed each other?" I asked Edward as he wrapped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

"I don't think they killed each other," he said with a grin. "Let's give them a few more minutes though. I want to stay around in case Emmett needs help disposing of the body." Edward broke out into loud laughter and that was when we heard it; something was banging against our wall.

"If they are throwing anything in that fucking room, I will not hesitant to slap a bitch," I said as I stood from the couch and Edward followed me towards our bedroom.

"Perhaps we should give them a minute," said Edward as he tried to hold me back from our room, some small noises coming from the other side of the door. "I think they are sorting out their differences." I looked at Edward, my eyes disapproving of his choice and I threw open the bedroom door. My eyes were assaulted by Emmett's naked ass the moment we walked in as he was busy fucking Rosalie on our bed.

"Oh my god," I shouted out as Edward covered my eyes and pulled me from the bedroom. We both sat on the couch wordlessly for the next five minutes, until Em and Rose walked out of our now soiled bedroom, looking satisfied, smug and slightly apologetic. "What the fuck?"

"I thought you guys wanted us to reconcile?" asked Emmett with a shrug of his shoulders as Rosalie smacked him upside the head. Emmett began to gather up some of his stuff from the living room and I breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that he was apparently going to be leaving us and the confines of our couch.

"Of course we wanted you guys to get back together, but did you need to fuck on our bed to solidify it?" Edward asked with a small growl, clearly frustrated.

"I'll start the load of laundry and wash your sheets," said Emmett, a smug grin still on his face. "I won't apologize for fucking my fiancée though." Well, I guess the wedding was back on.

"Jesus Em, could you be a bit more crass?" I asked as he finished gathering up his shit from our living room floor and headed off to the bedroom with Edward. Sure enough, they walked out two minutes later with all of our sheets and Emmett started a load of laundry. "Regardless of whether or not you are washing my sheets, I am still burning them and buying new ones before we move into the new place."

As we watched the boys do the laundry, Rosalie sat beside me and actually asked questions about my life. She was interested when I told her about the new place Edward and I had purchased and she seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say about the Peanut. It felt good to just talk to her about random shit, almost as though I had my friend back, which was all I wanted when this mess began.

**EPOV**

The moment Emmett and Rosalie left our apartment, their lips practically glued together, it was a like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. When Emmett had come in and announced that he had broken up with her, I had to admit, I wasn't overly surprised. She had been hard to deal with in small doses, let alone every day like Emmett was forced to do.

The first night he arrived, we had sat on our couch drinking beers and I just listened to him speak. First and foremost, he apologized for the crack he made about the Peanut, and I quickly apologized in turn for making the remarks about the baby he and Rosalie didn't have. It hadn't been fair of me to hurt them they way I had, and he even confessed to me that although he wasn't ready to have a child, he was envious of me for being so strong. He had broken up with Rosalie because they couldn't seem to agree on anything anymore. She wasn't listening to reason and Em was struggling with the fact that we were no longer talking to one another. We spent hours just talking through our issues and by the time the night was done; we were stronger for everything and a wee bit drunk.

The next week went by in a flash and before I knew it, there were movers at our door, taking our boxes out into their vans and heading to our new place over in Bedford. I made Bella stay at the new house with Alice, coordinating the new things that were brought in and I stayed with the movers at our old condo to ensure everything went smoothly.

Once everything was finally moved into the apartment, Emmett and Rosalie joined us with three boxes of a pizza and a case of beer, plus some Diet Pepsi for Bella, since that was her latest craving. Although I insisted we keep it in small doses, which she scowled at me every time I mentioned it.

"Your move went faster than ours did," exclaimed Emmett as we cleaned a few boxes off of the coffee table and we all sat around, some of us on the floor and some of us on the couch. Emmett and Rosalie had moved into their new place near Central Park a week before their engagement party, so I couldn't help but think that it added to their stress, but I never mentioned it.

"Yeah well, our movers were top notch. Bella spent hours doing comparisons of various companies in the city before she even let us book anything," I said with a laugh as Bella took a bite of her slice of veggie pizza.

"Excuse me if the pregnancy has made me a perfectionist," she joked as Alice rolled her eyes at her. We both knew damn well that Bella was meticulous long before the baby came along; it's just that Alice was a little more thorough than her. "Okay fine, I was one beforehand. Is it wrong of me to make sure our move goes well?"

"No, not at all, laughed Rosalie as she took a swig of her beer. "So I think we should propose a toast to our friends here." She lifted up her bottle and we all followed suit, although I wasn't sure why the fuck we were toasting. "To Edward and Bella, for not giving a shit and doing things their way. To say we were envious, would be an understatement." We all clinked our glasses as I kissed Bella firmly on the temple.

As we sat and ate our pizza, Alice and Jasper regaled us with stories of her final semester of class, which was nearing its end as well as about the internship she was currently doing with Donna Karan. Jasper was busy at work, as per usual, but felt like the weekend was no time to hash out all this shit he was going through. I think I was actually relieved that I didn't have to listen to his work stories, since he had called me earlier in the week bitching about it.

Rosalie and Emmett told us about the new wedding planner they had hired and how they had forced all their work onto her. Rosalie had also driven to Boston on her day off and confronted her mother about her overbearing ways, which resulted in a long overdue fight between the two of them. Apparently things were going better between them though and Rosalie's mom was conversing only with the planner about things pertaining to the wedding, instead of bitching and complaining to Rosalie directly.

By the time all our pizza was done, the girls went to help Bella unload a few things in the bedroom, while I tried to unpack a few boxes with the help of Emmett and Jasper. "Did I thank you enough for reuniting me and Rose?" asked Emmett as he handed me a few books from the open box in the living room and I began to place them on the full wall shelving in our living room. I knew full well that Bella would eventually arrange them alphabetically, but I wanted to at least empty one box tonight.

"Did I thank you for the fact that my wife made us buy a four hundred dollar bedding set and then she tossed our perfectly good one in the dumpster at the old condo?" I asked with a laugh as Jasper looked at us with surprise. "When idiot and Rosalie here reunited, they consummated it on our bed in the middle of a fight. Bella and I were right on the couch in the living room listening for fucks sake."

"Didn't you and Bella do it on our bed in that small cabin in Massachusetts?" asked Jasper snidely as I rolled my eyes.

"Your bed wasn't made at the time but yeah and look where that got us. Bella got pregnant that night," I said with a grin. I wasn't upset that she had gotten pregnant; actually it was quite the opposite. That night may have resulted in an unplanned pregnancy, but it brought me everything I ever wanted. "If you two get pregnant from humping on my bed, I will laugh my fucking ass off. Then when Alice and Jasper try to have kids, I will force them to fuck on your bed." Emmett rolled his eyes and let out a low groan of disapproval as he handed me a few more books. Jasper had ripped open another box and handed it to Emmett and we kept moving along, slowly unpacking the boxes as we talked candidly about where our lives had led us.

"I know you hate talking about this shit Emmett, but you have to deal with the fact that I have sex with your sister. We don't need to talk about it, but considering that you and Edward are my best friends it's inevitable," said Jasper as he slid another open box towards Em. I think Em found it a bit disconcerting that Jasper wanted to talk about Alice to us, but when he did, which wasn't very often, I just tried to think of her as someone other than my little sister. "I think I might propose to her on New Year's."

"It's about time man. I think she's been secretly planning her own wedding since she was six," I added as I gave Jasper an awkward one armed hug. I shoved the books I was holding onto the shelf just as the girls walked in.

"Aww, are we interrupting some sort of male bonding shit?" asked Rosalie as I pulled away from Jasper and looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"Hardly. We were talking about football and violence," said Emmett as he stood up and brushed some dirt from his jeans.

"That's exactly what it looked like you were doing," commented Bella as she came up beside me and inspected what we had done. "It looked like if we hadn't interrupted you guys would be discussing finger nail polish before breaking out into Kumbaya."

"Did you want us to go get you boys some chick flicks down at blockbuster?" Alice added as I groaned at her and Jasper became our mediator.

"Sorry gang, as much fun as it has been eating pizza and being emasculated by my own girlfriend here, we need to get going. We're hitting some trunk sale in the morning and she needs me to be awake and able to carry lord knows how many shoes and dresses," said Jasper as I laughed loudly at him.

"Here you are commenting on being emasculated, but you just admitted to going to a clothing sale with your girlfriend first thing in the morning. I should go through our boxes and find the Gaydar I got down at Sharper Image because you are being so gay right now," I exclaimed as Jasper punched me on the shoulder gently. "You can't even punch me hard. Dude, you need to turn in your man card immediately."

"Trust me, he's all man," tossed in Alice as Emmett threw his hands up over his ears and began chanting loudly to himself. "I forgot he doesn't believe I have sex. God forbid I discuss it with you guys," added Alice. Jasper quickly ushered Alice out of the apartment before anymore sexual orientations could be discussed. Emmett and Rosalie helped us in the kitchen for a little bit before they ended up heading to their own home.

When everyone was gone, Bella relaxed in the bath as I searched high and low for a box that contained towels. Once she was done and I had managed to find her the fluffiest towels we owned, I helped her out of the bath and then we got ready for bed together. "I can't believe we own a house."

"I know," I admitted as I she laid down beside me and I curled into her side. "It seemed like so long ago that we bought that damned condo, but it was only two years. It's nice to have this place, where we can grow and have more kids." Bella's eyes grew wide at the mention of additional kids, but I didn't try to assuage her fears. "You do want more kids right?"

"How about I squeeze this little guy out first and once he's out of diapers we talk about it again. Carmen was telling me to make sure your kid was potty trained before you try to have another," said Bella with a yawn as my hand moved to her stomach, like it did most nights when we got ready for bed.

"Carmen also told you to name the baby Peanut because she thought it was a strong name," I laughed as Bella giggled slightly. I had met Carmen one afternoon when I picked up Bella for a doctor's appointment and she took me by surprise immediately. Not only did she hug me and then insist on checking my hands for my life lines or some shit like that, she then recommended dozens more baby names that were all shot down quickly like Peanut, Kai and Wayne. She was really pretty random with the Wayne suggestion, but I humored her anyways and mentioned how Bella and I were interested in Eugene, since we drove through Eugene, Oregon in the summer. Bella immediately shot down the suggestion of Eugene Cullen and we headed to her appointment, leaving Carmen laughing happily in our wake.

"Okay, so she doesn't offer the best advice, but she is a great boss."

"I'm not discounting her skills as an employer. I am however saying she will have no say in naming the little guy you are currently gestating," I said as I rubbed her stomach slightly and then lifted up her nightshirt to give the belly a gentle kiss.

"Can I just say, for the record, that you are officially the cutest guy on earth every single time to you do that?" said Bella as I leaned up and kissed her lips just as sweetly as I had kissed her stomach.

"Can I get that on a bumper sticker?"

"Christmas is coming up soon, so I will see what I can do," she laughed as she then got into position on her side and rested her head against my chest. We lay together and simply talked about the move and what we wanted to get done in the house first.

My parents were coming to town the following weekend to go baby furniture shopping with Bella and me, which made me slightly nervous. Sure, things were going good with my folks these days, but I knew they probably wanted to buy some four thousand dollar monstrosity of a crib and Bella would be completely against it. I had told my mother not to get overly excited about things, but I had a feeling I would need to rein her in a bit. Until then, I would just catch up on some sleep and hope she didn't cause me an ulcer when I saw her next weekend.


	29. Moving Day to Forks, WA

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews from the last chapter. I might not get around to reviewing every single one of them, but I appreciate them more than you realize.**

**Have you checked out the entries for Esme's Erotic Ecstasy Contest? The deadline to enter is October 31****st****, so if you want to submit something get on it. I may have an entry in the Naughty Heels Anonymous 80's music contest, which I did in collaboration with Risbee, so maybe you should go check out the entries and see if you can figure out which one is ours. Oh and go enter the Twilight Fright Night contest hosted by ARenee363 and WindyCityWonder. I might be doing an entry for that with Risbee as well. LOL**

**As per usual, I don't own twilight. I do own the New Moon Movie Companion book, thanks to my fuckawesome beta MaggieMay14.**

**BPOV**

It was eight o'clock on a Saturday morning. I hadn't been up this early on a weekend in like 3 months and today more than ever, I wished I was curled up in my bed with Edward wrapped around me like a security blanket.

"Bella, they are waiting for us you know," said Edward as he came into the bathroom and found me pulling my hair up into a ponytail. I had showered the night before to try and sleep in a bit in the morning, but of course Esme had to call the house just after seven and remind us that they would be over at eight. What was supposed to be a quick shopping trip to get the baby a crib and a few things for the nursery had suddenly turned into an all day event beginning with breakfast.

"I realize this Edward, but I am dealing with a little excess baggage," I said as I motioned to my stomach and put on a small spray of perfume. "It's understandable if I go a little slow these days. I think they will be able to cope." Edward let out a small groan as he headed back into the living room to entertain his mother and sister for a little bit longer.

They were forcing him to join us for the shopping trip and he wasn't looking forward to it. He was excited about the baby, the crib and all the other little things we would need for the nursery, but we had already discussed what we wanted and he was looking for a day of peace and quiet. I couldn't blame him though; I wanted a day to relax as well.

"You are positively beaming," gushed Esme as I walked into the room tentatively. She was dressed impeccably as per usual and looked like she might be going over to Martha Stewart's later to watch other people garden or something. Alice was rocking a thick pink woolen sweater with a pair of tight jeans and ran over to me the moment she saw me emerge down the stairs.

"I am apologizing in advance for anything my mother may say or try to buy you today. Please don't hold it against me," she whispered to me as I let out a low throaty laugh that was caught by both Edward and Esme. I began to worry about what Esme and Alice may have talked about on their way over from the hotel that would make her apologize to me, but when my stomach growled, I forced the thoughts from my mind. The only thing I could think about was getting some sort of food in me.

We drove into mid-town and ended up having breakfast at a small restaurant which of course, Esme and Carlisle invested in. The food was excellent and the service was top notch, but considering everyone knew that Esme was in the building, it wasn't a shock. At just after ten, we walked into a store called Bellini, up near Central Park and I thought Esme was going to go into baby overdrive.

Edward wrapped his arm firmly around my waist as his mother's eyes lit up and she went over to the first crib she saw. I looked at the tag handing down and had to laugh, since it was called 'The Bella'. "Do you think it's a sign?" I asked Edward with a giggle as he looked down at the tag.

"A sign we shouldn't own it. I think it's too gaudy," he declared as he then led me over to a different crib that was a nice oak color and actually matched the wood floors in the nursery quite well. "This is more of what I had in mind." I watched as Edward's hands moved slowly over the bedding in the crib, which had a safari motif. It was cute, but I wasn't sold on it just yet, although the crib definitely had possibilities.

"What did you want in the nursery other than a crib?" asked Alice as she ran over to join us. We explained that we were looking for a changing table, a dresser, a crib and a bassinet so that the Peanut could stay in our room for the first few weeks after he came home from the hospital. She nodded her head and ran back to Esme, who was talking animatedly to a sales person. I cringed at the thought of what they were discussing.

"Do you think they realize that whatever they are doing right now is in vain because we will make our own decisions anyways?" I inquired as Edward nodded his head at me slowly before kissing my temple.

"I think my mother realized a long time ago that we make choices together. She just wants to feel involved, and I can't stay that I blame her since we did shaft her on throwing us a wedding," laughed Edward as a small display on the other side of the store caught my eye and I eagerly grabbed his hand and pulled him towards it with me.

It was the same oak crib as the previous display, but this one had a bedding set covered in trains which made me get a little bit too excited. "This is it," I declared as Edward quirked an eyebrow at me in surprise.

"This is the first store we've visited and the second crib you've looked at and you've declared it perfect for our little peanut?" he asked as Esme, Alice and the sales person they were speaking to came over to join us. Alice was the only one who looked at the crib set as excited as me.

"It's perfect. Trains… just like how you and Edward fell in love," she announced as I nodded my head and Edward finally understood my excitement about it. The moment I saw it from across the room, I knew I wanted it just because of the symbolism. There were different trains on it, but the meaning was still the same and I wasn't shocked when Edward turned around and announced to the sales person that we would take the entire set, which included a dresser, changing table and rocking chair.

"You are seriously choosing this one?" asked Esme as she pointed at the set Edward and I had just agreed on. "We have all day to go shopping and you pick the first crib you see in the first store we visit. Can I just say I am a little disappointed that this won't take all day?" I looked over at Esme and shocked her as I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a big hug.

"Actually, it's the second crib we saw and the second bedding set we saw, but it's perfect for us. We met because we were traveling by train across Europe. How sweet is it that we are sharing our mutual love of trains with the baby?" I said as I finally released my mother-in-law and stepped back to my husband, who looked just as surprised as his mother that I had hugged her. "If you want to make this day of shopping last longer, why don't we go looking for clothes for the Peanut?"

"I came all the way down from Boston, so I would like more than 2 hours of breakfast and a little crib shopping with you girls."

"I think we can manage to find something to keep ourselves busy," gushed Alice as she got a small glint in her eye and I looked at her warily.

"Fine. You girls lead the way," I replied hesitantly.

Esme and Alice nodded happily and I gave Edward a reprieve once we were done paying for everything, or once Esme was done paying for it since she insisted, no matter how hard Edward and I tried to convince her otherwise. "I'll see you in a few hours back at the house," I told Edward as he left us and we arranged for delivery of the furniture for the weekend after Thanksgiving. Since Edward and I would be heading back to Forks to see my parents in three weeks, we decided it would be best to wait until we returned to get everything set up for the baby.

As we left the store, Alice hailed a cab and before I realized it we were at a salon a few blocks away and as we were being seated for pedicures, Rosalie walked in with a huge smile on her face. "I called in a few favors," said Alice as I looked at her incredulously.

"How the hell did you get pedicure appointments for the four of us on a busy Saturday with no notice?" I inquired as Rosalie sat beside me and offered me a small hug. We still weren't on the best of terms, but every day things were improving between us.

"I happen to know a few people," laughed Esme. "I let Alice drop the Cullen name a few times and here we are. I must admit, I am rather giddy about the prospect of spending the next few hours with my daughters," said Esme sweetly as I realized that she thought of me like one of her own, which was a wonderful development in my eyes. Rosalie and Emmett had gone earlier in the week to see Esme and Carlisle to mend fences with them and they had called Edward and me afterwards to let us know how things had gone.

Apparently Esme and Carlisle were most disappointed about the fact that Rosalie and Emmett had left them in the dark for so many years about the potential grandchild they would have had, but Emmett had to remind them over and over again about how at the time, they weren't exactly the stellar parents that they are now. In fact, Emmett told them point blank that at the time of the pregnancy they hadn't been in the country to talk to anyways since it was one of the periods where Carlisle was traveling a lot for work. Carlisle and Esme eventually conceded that they weren't exactly the best parents at the time and they all made amends, for which we were all thankful. There was no way any of us could handle Emmett and Rosalie's wedding if the family was in shambles.

"So, Bella… have you changed your mind about being my maid of honor?" asked Rosalie with her eye brow raised. Esme and Alice were not aware that I hadn't agreed to stand up for Rosalie after the argument and the look on their faces was one of pure shock.

"You're not doing it?" asked Alice as I shook my head tentatively. I hadn't yet decided to do it again and as the pregnancy progressed, I wasn't even sure I would be up to the task. I didn't have the time to do all the little things she had requested of me before, so unless there was a change in the way she was doing business, I didn't really want to do it.

"Bella, I'm going to implore you to reconsider, because you can't really leave the confines of the seat since they are soaking your feet and you are basically forced to listen to me," laughed Rosalie as she glared at me. I suddenly wished I was sitting beside Esme and dealing with her stares. "If I can promise you that all you need to do is show up at the rehearsal, accept your attendant's gift and then stand up for me… will you do it?" she asked as I began to contemplate her offer.

"What about all the other stuff?"

"Masen, our new and fabulously gay wedding planner will be doing everything. He takes every single call from my mother about the planning and basically tells her to go fuck herself and that it is Emmett's and my day," she chuckled loudly. "Sorry for cursing Esme."

"No problem, Rosalie dear. I've heard worse in the past few weeks anyways," she said with a sigh as she swatted her hand playfully towards her soon to be daughter in law.

"Come on Bella, what do you say? I know we have had our issues, but you are my best friend and I can't imagine anyone else standing up for me on the biggest day of my life," she stated stoically and I reached out and hugged her reluctantly. "I love you."

"I love you too Rosalie and if you can promise that you won't be calling me at three in the morning to ask about whether people should throw rice or blow bubbles…"

"Oh we can't do either of those, the church won't allow it," she interrupted and I frowned at her slightly. "Sorry about that. Please continue."

"As I was saying, if you can promise that you won't call to ask my opinion on some of the most asinine things possible, then I will agree." I was a little surprised at my own response since it was only two weeks ago that I thought I wouldn't even be able to walk through the door of the church and support them, but now I was ready to encourage them with their wedding. "I know Edward agreed to stand up for Emmett again, so it's only logical. I don't really want my husband dancing with anyone else anyways."

"I don't care why you do, as long as you do. I don't think the day would be complete if you and Edward didn't join us at the altar and stand up for us," Rosalie stated with a big smile on her face. "I can't do it without you Bella."

"Okay. I'll do it, but just because I already have the dress and it won't fit anyone else," I said with a nervous laugh as Rosalie hugged me, raising her feet as the water splashed onto the floor, much to the disgust of her manicurist.

The rest of our morning flew by in a blur. We chatted briefly about the wedding, but then the girls seemed genuinely interested in our plans for the nursery, paint colors for the house and various other things we wanted to do in our new place. We had a few rooms left to paint, and Edward was having them taken care of over the Thanksgiving weekend, at a slightly extra cost because of the holiday. He didn't care though. His main concern was that I would be out of the house for several days in a row, thus not exposing me and the Peanut to the fumes.

I was still dreading Thanksgiving back in Forks with every fiber of my being. I knew the reaction I would get from my mother about the fact that Edward and I had eloped would not be a good one. Perhaps I could postpone it until we left to come back to New York, that way we wouldn't have to listen to her bitch for days about it.

When we finally finished up for the day, I was relieved to get home to Edward. I was even more relieved to discover he had completely unpacked all the boxes for his office and we could actually sit in there and use the computer. "Bored today?" I inquired as he took a seat on the couch and rested. I went to sit beside him, resting my head on his chest as he stroked my hair slowly.

"It was just a bit lonely without you here. Did you have a good time with the girls? My mother didn't harass you too much about naming the Peanut Edward, did she?" he inquired as I shook my head in the negative and nestled more into his chest. I felt so comforted and calm as we sat together resting.

I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my stomach, sort of like a butterfly or something and I was immediately alarmed and sat up straight. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," I admitted quietly to Edward as I grabbed his hand and rested it against my stomach. "I think the Peanut might be kicking." Edward's eyes lit up in excitement as I felt another fluttering sensation and he pressed his hand firmly against my stomach.

"Holy shit, that is too cool," he gushed excitedly before bending over, closer to my stomach. "Are you gonna be a soccer player? I bet you will," he said sweetly as we got yet another kick and Edward looked more excited than I had ever seen him. I was 26 weeks pregnant already and it was sort of surreal to have this happening all of a sudden, even though I knew it would be coming soon.

"I love you," said Edward as he kissed my lips gently and then bent back over my stomach again. "I love you too little guy."

**EPOV**

Even now, as we drove into the town limits of Forks, I felt somewhat tense about what to expect when we walked into casa de Swan. We hadn't seen Bella's parents since July when we announced our impending little bundle and things hadn't gone too well at the time. I wasn't expecting a smooth response when we finally told them about the wedding.

I glanced over at Bella, her head resting against the window as she slept and I felt bad about the fact that I would need to wake her as we neared closer to her parents' house. We had flown in early that morning from New York and had rented a car out of Sea-Tac. I rubbed her thigh gently as I tried to get her to wake up.

"Bells, we're almost there," I said as we turned onto the main street that went through town. "You better wake up, cause I have no idea how to get there from here," I claimed falsely as she stirred and sat up a bit more within her seat.

"Turn left at the next street," she said coolly, and I could tell she was getting nervous again. It seemed like the only time she wasn't nervous in the past few days was when she was asleep or at work. Then again, she could have been nervous at work but I wasn't there to see it. "When do you think we should tell them?"

I pulled in front of her parents' house and glanced up at the front porch, which was decorated with pumpkins and a big plastic turkey for the holiday. It was a bit gaudy, but there was no way I was saying anything to Bella or her parents about it. I did not have a death wish and I really wanted to be around for the birth of my son.

"I think we should get it over with as soon as we can. I mean, they will appreciate it even less if we wait till Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of your family right?" I asked curiously as Bella nodded her head and she went to step from the car. I quickly got out and ran to her side, helping her as she eased her way out since she was still tired. I gripped her hand tight in mine as we made our way up the front walkway and were greeted by an ecstatic looking Charlie.

"Get your ass on up here girl," he stated as he looked at his pregnant daughter with a wide smile. "Your mother just ran to the store to get cranberries since we ran out of them. Why she went I don't know since I don't even like them." Charlie then wrapped Bella up into a huge hug before letting her go and looking at her belly. "Jeez… you certainly are pregnant aren't you?"

"Did you think we were kidding when we told you five months ago?" she asked as I laughed slightly and Charlie gave me a decent handshake.

"Good to see you too Edward," he said as he then held the door open for us and I thanked him casually. "I hope the flight and the drive from Seattle weren't too rough on you guys."

"No, Bella here caught a quick nap from Port Angeles down to Forks, so it was nice and quiet," I said with a wink as Bella smacked me playfully on the shoulder.

As we waited for Renee to return, we sat in the living room and chatted happily about how our jobs were going and Charlie told us about all the family members who would be coming over for dinner the following night. It seemed that Charlie's brother, Colin and his wife Lesley would be making the trip from Portland with their young daughter Anna Beth and would be spending the night with us as well. Renee's two spinster aunts were also coming over, but since they lived nearby they wouldn't be staying overnight, which was a relief. Not that I didn't enjoy Bella's family since I had met them over thanksgiving the past two years, but the house wasn't exactly equipped to hold the entire group for long periods of time.

"Whose car is in front of the house?" shouted Renee, when she showed up half an hour later. When she walked into the room and saw Bella and me, her eyes lit up. "I was hoping it was you guys." We both stood up and Renee pulled us into huge hugs, which was a bit surprising. She hadn't been overly supportive about the baby when we told her several months ago, but now she seemed to have done a complete 180 degree change.

"It's good to see you too Mom," Bella said quietly when we were finally released from Renee's grasp. I saw Bella glance over at me as we sat back down on the couch and Renee took a seat on the arm rest of the recliner that Charlie was perched in.

"How's my grandchild doing?" she asked as Charlie's hand began to stroke her knee slowly. I leaned back against the couch and rested my arm over Bella's shoulder as she leaned into me.

"He's doing really good," I stated. Bella had wanted to tell her parents all of our big news in person and she had given me permission earlier in our trip to break the news about the baby being a boy. She wanted to be the one to tell them about the wedding, so it was a no brainer for me.

"Did you say it's a 'he'?" inquired Charlie as we both nodded our heads. "I'm going have a grandson. This is fricking fabulous. All the guys down at the station were certain you would be having a girl." Renee then began gushing about clothes, nursery furniture and whether or not we would have the Peanut circumcised, so we quickly changed topics, seeing as this was something we hadn't decided as of yet nor something we wanted to discuss at length with my parents.

"Edward and I have something really important to tell you guys, and we wanted to do it before the family got here tomorrow," started Bella as I felt her grip my hand nervously and all the color drained from her face. I used my hand that was across her shoulder to rub her arm soothingly and tried to calm her down.

"Is there something wrong the baby?" inquired Renee solemnly. I could tell she was just as anxious as Bella and the way Bella was reacting, wasn't making it any easier. She looked like someone had just run over her beloved dog, not that she was announcing to her parents that we were married.

"God no. The Peanut is healthy and everything is just fine," stated Bella and I noticed her teeth clench and her fingernails were practically digging into my skin. I was getting so unhinged watching Bella try to talk to her parents about this, and I just gave up.

"Bella and I got married in Vegas back in July after we left Forks," I announced as Charlie stared at the two of us for a moment before he got out of his chair and wordlessly walked out of the house through the back door. Bella tensed even more beside me and I felt like shit, even though all I wanted to do was relieve her stress.

"Well, I have to admit I'm not really surprised, unlike your father who seems shocked. I'm kinda happy that you guys did it before the baby came, but disappointed that we won't be able to hold you a grand Forks style wedding," said Renee as Bella laughed at her slightly, most likely at her idea of a big Forks wedding, which was something Bella simply wasn't interesting in having.

"Well, we have the video here, so we can all watch it together. It was really nice and small and I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner," stated Bella as she began to cry and Renee came over to wrap her arms around both of us again.

"Bella, your father and I didn't exactly do things the old fashioned way either. Hell, we had you a few months after got married, so that tells you that we weren't traditional. I might struggle in deciding what is best for you, but I have to admit, when you are with Edward, you are the happiest I have ever seen you," Renee said with a small smile in my direction. "I've resigned myself to the fact that he is what is best for you and that you two will do things your own way. Charlie and I didn't do things the way my parents wanted, but twenty years later we are just as happy as we were the first day we met. I wish I had remembered all of this before I pressured you when you told us you were pregnant."

"Thanks Mom," said Bella as she hugged her mom again, who then pointed to the back door.

"I think you should go have a talk with Grandpa. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to walking you down the aisle one day. Show him how happy you are Bella, and he will be happy too," explained Renee as Bella headed from the living room and out the back door.

I went to grab our luggage from the rental car and hauled it upstairs before joining Renee in the kitchen where she was attempting to make a pumpkin pie for tomorrow. I offered some assistance, but she just handed me a beer and insisted I sit down and let a load off, which I did eagerly.

"How long have they been out there?" I asked as I pointed to the back door and Renee shrugged her shoulders. "Do you think they are alright out there? It's a bit chilly and Bella didn't take a coat out with her."

"I'm sure they are fine Edward. They are probably sitting in his old car talking about stuff. Charlie wouldn't do anything to risk her or the baby, so don't worry about it. Why don't you tell me some of the names you and Bella have been considering for the little one?" she requested and my tension eased as I began to tell her some of our preferred names. I wasn't surprised when Renee voiced that she was partial to the name Charlie and I let out a small laugh. Bella had mentioned it in passing as a potential middle name, but we felt bad excluding my father, so it was quickly shelved.

Just as Renee shoved her first pie into the oven, Charlie and Bella walked in the back door, her with a large blanket draped around her shoulders and I let out a small sigh of relief. "Is everything okay?" asked Renee as she closed the oven and tossed her oven mitts on the counter impatiently.

"Yeah, we've straightened out our issues and everything is perfectly fine, right Dad?" said Bella cheerfully as Charlie hugged her side and kissed the top of her head.

"Everything is great. I might not be able to walk my girl down the aisle, but I get something even better, a grandson who will be my pride and joy, just like his mom," stated Charlie happily and I had to admit, I felt a twinge of overwhelming pride myself. I was so happy that I had married into this family even if Bella's mom's opinion of me seemed to go up and down like a fucking teeter totter.

"Alright then. So we're all happy now, at least until tomorrow when our family gets here," laughed Renee as Bella ambled over to my side and I hugged her close.

"Is everything really alright?" I whispered to her as I saw Charlie and Renee hugging out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah. Couldn't be better Mr. Cullen."

"Glad to hear it Mrs. Cullen."

**A/N: Okay, fic rec time again and I suggest you check out: The Pattinson Project by bettygale and 3,2,1 by heather dawn. If you aren't reading my collaboration, Maybe I'm Falling For You, that I have been working on with my partner in smut, flightlessbird11 I suggest you get on it.**


	30. Forks, WA to Tavern on the Green

**A/N: Okay, not much of an A/N this week. Thanks for all the awesome reviews, love and support I've been getting for this little story. We're about 10-12 Chapters from the end, so thanks for sticking around for the ride.**

**Check out my profile for info on the Esme & Twilight Fright Night Contests.**

**As per usual, I don't own Twilight, but I do have a coffee that is way too cold, yet I keep drinking the bitch. I also have a fuckawesome beta in MaggieMay14 and some awesome friends in Risbee, Kikikinz, beegurl13, flightlessbird11, ARenee363 and the rest of the crew on Twitter.**

**EPOV**

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" asked Bella as she pointed at the… thing that was in a pie plate on the counter. Renee let out a shy shrug of her shoulders and I broke out into laughter.

"The recipe said it was a lemon meringue pie," said Renee as she glanced back down at the apparent pie, which was brown and looked more like a seriously nasty looking pumpkin pie. Since it was supposed to be lemon meringue, it was even more disgusting.

"It smells like feet." I turned my head and there stood Charlie leaning against the door frame, smirking. Apparently he wasn't a fan of the pie either. "How is it that you were able to make one of the best pumpkin pies in all of Clallam County, but when it comes to making anything else, you are hopeless?" He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist before kissing her cheek.

"Yeah, it was only a few years ago that I made a great Thanksgiving dinner," retorted Renee, the anger bubbling up to the surface at Charlie's insult at her cooking.

"You're right honey. You aren't that bad of a cook. Let's just discuss his pie in front of us shall we?" he replied with a huge grin, frustrating her further.

"Fine, this pie is a disaster of epic proportions, but I can cook," she said fiercely as we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"This is why I am making the turkey," laughed Bella as she moved to the fridge and opened it up, staring at her now defrosted bird. "Mom is apparently having a lapse in her cooking skills this morning." After the drama calmed down last night, Bella finished the pies with her mother and they cleaned and prepared the bird together as Charlie and I had a small heart to heart in the living room.

I had to admit, I wasn't overly excited about Bella being on her feet all day, cooking the turkey and all the fixings, but as we had lain in her small bed last night, she was insistent upon it. Even now, as I put the turkey onto the counter for her to prepare it for the oven, I couldn't help but thinking back to last night.

"_So, what happened in the garage?" I asked, once Bella had changed into a simple pair of flannel pajamas covered in bright red cherries. She pulled the covers tight over her as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest._

"_Charlie was disappointed. Even with the baby coming, he thought we would go the traditional route with our wedding," she said simply as I kissed her temple. "He was hoping we would do something local after the Peanut was born. I think he just wanted to show us off to the entire town. I have to admit, I was pretty damn sad that I had hurt him like that."_

"_Well, no offense to Charlie, but he didn't really expect us to do anything normally did he?" I asked as I nuzzled my chin into her neck, her ear lobe just inches from my lips. "I mean, we met and fell in love while travelling through Europe. Then we lived together in New York before I proposed to you in the old Impala and you turned me down, with me eventually asking you after I had been out for a run and was all sweaty."_

"_Hmm, you looked so yummy when you were all sweaty and out of breath. It was really hard for me not to jump your bones with our parents standing there," she admitted as I felt her fingers dance lightly over my arm, which was firmly entrenched around her._

"_Stop distracting me. What I was trying to say was that we never did anything by the book, why start now?"_

"_Charlie apparently always had visions of walking me down the aisle. My mother never had the luxury of having her father at their wedding since he had long since passed away, but it was something he always wanted for me. I kinda had to make him a concession," she said anxiously as I felt her head bend forward slightly. "So, next summer we're getting married again. On our one year anniversary."_

"_We're doing w-what?" I stuttered as Bella turned in the small bed until she was facing me. How she didn't fall out of it was as surprising to me as her announcement of our second wedding. "I thought we didn't care what our families wanted?"_

"_We don't."_

"_Then why the hell are we having another wedding?"_

"_I came to a realization when I was out in the car with him. Even though I don't build my life… our life, around the wants and needs of other people, having an actual wedding where we celebrate the joining of our lives together is something I do want," she stated firmly as her small hand reached up and began moving through my hair. "I don't care if we do it in New York, Forks or France… I just think it would be great to celebrate our life with our family."_

"_How about we do a pot-luck down at the Elk's Lodge?" I added with a small laugh as Bella kissed my lips sweetly._

"_Sounds good. We'll get married in the backyard and have the reception down at the Lodge. I'm sure my mother can plan everything with two phone calls." Bella looked so content at that moment, that I couldn't find it in me to tell her no. So I didn't and now we were getting married again next summer, in the middle of July._

"Edward, can you please go grab the fine china out of the hutch in the other room?" asked Renee as she pulled me from my reverie. I nodded my head and Charlie graciously led the way and volunteered to help me.

"You know I love you like a son, which you are now, so I am giving you a heads up. When Mildred and Fern get here later today, they tend to be a bit handsy," said Charlie as he opened the door to the hutch and handed me a stack of plates. "They are Renee's single aunts and let's just say, I have been propositioned more than once by these ladies, both alone and together."

I shudder went through my body as I thought about what he was explaining to me. "Since you are fresh meat to them, they may be a little more aggressive than usual. Colin and I are used to it, since we've been in the family for so long, but I wanted you to be aware of it. Even with Bella here, they won't be deterred," laughed Charlie as he stepped from the room carrying the smaller stack of plates. I followed him into the dining room with my big stack and together we began to set the table for a dinner that wouldn't happen for at least 8 hours.

After we had everything set up, Bella gave me a short reprieve to go and shower, for which I was grateful. I took as long as I could under the hot water and when I finally got out, Bella was waiting patiently for me in her bedroom. "What's going on?" I inquired as I tried to tighten the towel that was around my waist.

"Nothing. Mom is finishing up the stuffing and then we have to shove it in the turkey, so I am taking a short break," she said casually as she leaned back on bed, resting on her palms. I began sorting through our luggage to pull out some clothes to change into and out of the corner of my eye I continued to watch Bella. She was aimlessly rubbing her stomach and smiling cheerfully.

"Is he kicking again?" I asked as she nodded her head lightly. I pulled on a pair of boxers and some jeans before kneeling in front of her and spreading her legs. I rested my hands on her stomach and felt our little Peanut kicking up a storm. "I bet he loves turkey and that's why he is so excited."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," laughed Bella as I lifted her shirt up to just below her belly "He's a sucker for that tryptophan that makes you sleepy." I gave her stomach a few small kisses before we were interrupted.

"Aunt Renee, there is some strange guy with no shirt on kissing Bella's tummy and she looks like she ate a basketball," screamed out the small red headed girl who then turned on her heel and ran down the stairs.

"That crazy little ginger kid would be my cousin Sarah," said Bella as she sat up slightly. We could both hear Sarah trying to explain what she had seen, but each story she told was drastically different. By the time we descended the stairs, with me fully dressed, the story was that I was on top of Bella and we were both naked. Thankfully, none of the adults believed her when we walked into the room.

"Edward, this is my younger brother Colin," said Charlie as I extended my hand out towards him amiably. We shook hands and I noticed Bella join the women at the counter, where they were trying to stuff the turkey and they both looked relieved when Bella showed up.

"Much younger brother," corrected Colin as Charlie patted him on the back and it wasn't very soft. It reminded me of something that Emmett and I always did, so I was put at ease by their camaraderie. "I see you've been busy." My eyes grew wide at the statement, wondering if they had actually believed the shit that Sarah had tried to feed them about what she had found Bella and I doing. "Don't look so anxious Edward. I meant about the baby and the wedding. Charlie filled us in on everything when we got here."

I breathed a sigh of relief and then the men ushered me into the living room to watch football as our wives and Sarah worked in the kitchen. It felt a little uncomfortable to me, but when Bella came in an hour later and reassured me that everything was fine, I finally managed to relax.

The casual tone of Thanksgiving completely changed when Renee's Aunts, Mildred and Fern, showed up just before dinner. They looked exactly like Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty from the Golden Girls, but both were a lot feistier. In fact, feisty was probably an understatement. Charlie had been right in calling them aggressive earlier.

"Edward, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," shouted Mildred loudly, since she was losing her hearing. Unfortunately, the tone of her voice was going to make me go deaf if she stayed so close to me. Mildred wrapped me into a huge hug and then kisses both my cheeks, following it up with a pinch on my ass, just like Charlie forewarned me about.

"Woah," I shouted as I backed away from her, only to be faced with the exact same welcome from Fern.

"That is one tight tushie," exclaimed Mildred as a look of complete mortification came across my face.

"He must work out," added Fern, once her groping session was over. I backed away and stood behind Bella when I thought one of them might suddenly want to reach for the junk. In fact, for way too long, they were both eyeing me up like I was the dinner for the evening. It was very disconcerting.

Bella sensed my reluctance to spend too much time with these ladies and pulled me into the kitchen to help her pull the turkey from the oven. "Are they going to grope me all night?"

"Probably. Have you noticed my dad and Uncle Colin? They are giddy with excitement because now Great Aunt Mildred and Fern are leaving them alone. Apparently they find you very 'delicious'," said Bella, as she raised her hands and did air quotes. I let out a loud groan and then felt another pinch on my backside. Thankfully, it was just Bella, otherwise there would be mass carnage at the Swan Family Thanksgiving. "Don't worry. I won't let them spend too much time alone with you. I don't want them to traumatize you too much. I would still like to be able to have sex with my husband one day."

"Yeah well, then I should stay beside you the entire time. When we walk into rooms, you walk behind me, protecting the tushie," I said as I moved my hands to cover my rear.

"I love you," said Bella as she patted my cheek and then checked the temperature on the turkey. "Time to eat."

The actual meal with the entire family was kinda quiet. There were conversations about Christmas and Bella and I explained to them about Emmett's wedding and how we wouldn't be coming back to Forks until after the Peanut was born. Then, of course, Mildred and Fern had to express their displeasure about the fact that Bella and I eloped, but otherwise it was calm. Sarah turned out to be more annoying than I ever thought and when no one was looking she was busy tossing peas at me. Stupid eleven year olds.

Once dinner was over, Renee served up coffee and pie, as Bella and I cuddled up on the couch, her feet on my lap as I began rubbing them. "Your ankles look swollen hon."

"I'm sure they are just fine Edward. I've been on my feet a bunch today, so it makes sense don't you think?" she replied as she then rested her head against my chest. I turned down the coffee Renee offered, simply because I didn't want to stay up too late tonight and even though they had decaf, Bella refused it too.

"We can mention it at your next doctor's appointment," I said casually as Bella pulled back, a little surprised at my concern. "You know me better than this Bella. I'll be worried about it until I'm told it's nothing to be concerned about, alright?"

"Okay, but it's nothing to be concerned about," she replied as she moved her hand against my chest, trying to soothe me. It didn't work and my tension grew exponentially as Mildred and Fern wandered into the room, clutching their coffees and pumpkin pie. Renee had wisely got rid of the lemon meringue catastrophe earlier, before anyone else arrived.

"So, Edward," they said in unison as I raised my eye brows in curiosity. "Was this an accidental pregnancy or did you guys plan to have a baby out of wedlock?" Bella choked slightly as I began to rub circles on her back.

"Um, we don't consider the baby an accident, but it was unplanned. However, he won't be born out of wedlock, since Bella and I are married."

"Yes well, potato patatoe. So, Bella, Is Edward's ass as nice as it looks under those jeans?" asked Fern as I buried my head in my hands and Bella let out a small laugh.

"Um, Great Aunt Fern, I don't think that is appropriate conversation for Thanksgiving dinner. Especially with Sarah running around here somewhere," replied Bella anxiously. I could tell she was just as frustrated as I was with the boldness of her aunt. It didn't help matters that I was completely mortified.

"Answer the question and we can move onto another topic then," added Mildred as I groaned loudly but Bella nuzzled further against my chest.

"Yes," muttered Bella quietly, a little ashamed of herself for admitting it.

"Is he hung? Cause you know, those jeans he's wearing don't leave much to the imagination," said Mildred as Sarah walked into the room and then quickly turned on her heel to run out of the room, screaming to her mother 'what does hung mean?'. "It's about time that girl learned something. She's so sheltered."

"I concur," added Fern as they both waited expectantly for Bella to answer the question. Unfortunately for them, she climbed off of the couch and my lap, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her.

"Happy Thanksgiving," I said politely as she led me out the back door to the old Impala and we climbed into the back seat to snuggle.

"I apologize for all of that. I'm kinda glad they were always travelling on previous holidays," said Bella as I wrapped my arms tightly around her to keep her warm.

"Perhaps we should have Thanksgiving in New York next year?" I asked as Bella nodded her head.

"Sounds like a plan, unfortunately my crazed Great Aunts will probably still come. However, they may spend all their time looking for the Naked Cowboy so that they can pinch his ass. They have an obsession with him and Pierce Brosnan. They also love the guy who played MacGyver," she added as I kissed her head and she pulled my hand onto her stomach to feel the Peanut kicking again.

"Yeah, definitely going to be in New York next year."

**BPOV**

When we got back to New York on Sunday Night, to say I was exhausted would have been an understatement. Jasper picked us up at the airport and I slept the entire way back to the brownstone, only waking when I felt Edward try to lift me from the backseat of the car. As soon as my head hit the pillow that night, I was out like a light.

The rest of the week flew by in a blur and I found myself sitting inside one of the larger rooms at 'Tavern on the Green' awaiting Rosalie's big arrival. It was time for her bridal shower, and even though they considered holding it in Boston, Rosalie had a major conference for work until yesterday and couldn't get away. I, of course, preferred staying in town because it meant Edward was closer to me. He had been even more possessive of me since our latest doctor appointment.

Two days after we got home from Forks, we went to our latest appointment, where Edward explained to the doctor about my swollen ankles and how I had been retaining some water and being extra tired. I simply thought this was a normal part of pregnancy, but then she had me pee in a cup and we were suddenly waiting on test results to see if there was protein in my urine. I wasn't too worried, but I couldn't say the same for Edward. The moment our doctor mentioned that there might be an issue, he started freaking out and was asking every question known to man about what could be wrong with me.

"_Mr. Cullen, we aren't sure what is wrong with Bella. There might be nothing wrong, we are just running the tests to confirm this," Dr. Feldman said calmly._

"_Well, what could be wrong? You wouldn't do a specific test unless you had a suspicion of something specific right?," asked Edward as Dr. Feldman finished the ultrasound she had been doing and handed me a towel to wipe the gel from my stomach._

"_Mr. Cullen, I'm not certain what is wrong with Bella. In cases like hers, some patients get pre-eclampsia, but that is not always the case. The test is simply a pre caution. I don't want you to fret about this, because it could be nothing," she tried to reassure him. It hadn't worked. _

As I sat in my chair, with my feet up on a small ottoman, I noticed Alice pacing around the gift table while she kept her eyes trained on me. She was picking up some of the slack as I tried to relax but Edward had also forced her to keep an eye on me the entire day. She had her cell phone basically forged into her hand so that if Edward called, she could answer it immediately. Every time I saw her look at her phone, I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you sitting here by yourself sweetie?" asked Esme as she came over and sat beside me. I was sitting off to the far side of the room, letting all the impeccably dressed ladies chat amongst themselves. I felt like I was in one of those Daughter of the American Revolution meetings that they always joked about on Gilmore Girls. Other than Alice and Esme, no one had bothered me, and I liked it that way.

"I'm not supposed to be on my feet too much," I said coolly as I bent my head slightly and Esme reached over and began to run her hand over my stomach. "If you are lucky, the little guy will start to kick up a storm. He's usually fairly active around meal times."

Esme let out a small laugh as she pressed her hand a bit harder to see if she could feel anything. "Emmett was the same way when I was pregnant with him. It was like clockwork. Seven in the morning, noon and six in the evening, he would be kicking up a storm. As if he thought I would forget to eat. Carlisle was basically force-feeding me during the pregnancy and thought I wasn't eating enough."

"I see it runs in the family," I said with a loud laugh, just as Rosalie walked into the room. She looked cute, as opposed to sexy and I was certain this was her mother's doing. She would no doubt bitch to me about the fact that she was wearing a white knit cardigan and a knee length skirt later.

Alice excitedly pulled her towards the front of the room and called everyone to attention. "First of all, Bella and I would like to thank everyone for attending today to celebrate Rosalie's big day in a few weeks," Alice announced as she motioned with her hand towards me and Esme at the side of the room. I half heartedly raised my hand and noticed a smile form on Rosalie's face. At least she wasn't upset that I wasn't as hands on as she had expected. "We are going to enjoy our lunch first and then we will sit down as Rosalie opens her gifts and end up with a few games. We will also play a game or two during lunch, so find your designated seat and let's start this party!"

Esme helped me over to the table at the front of the room where we were sitting with Rosalie's mother, Alice and Rosalie. "Did you get the test results back?" asked Rosalie. When Edward and I had left our doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we went out to dinner with Rosalie and Emmett. They were both surprised and concerned when we explained to them what was going on with the Peanut.

"Not yet. Monday apparently," I said quietly as Esme looked at me with shock in her eyes. I leaned towards Esme and whispered to her about the test I had run and that the doctor told us not to worry too much until we got the test back. Esme looked twice as concerned as Edward did, until the Peanut started kicking and I grabbed her hand, putting it against the side of my stomach. "He's gonna be a soccer player."

"Either that or a kickboxer," Esme said with a small nervous smile.

"Emmett thinks he's going to be one of those ultimate fighter guys," added Rosalie as I let out a small groan. The last thing the Peanut was going to be was an ultimate fighter.

"That is quite the movement in there," added Esme, as her eyes grew wide. "Are you guys sure everything is alright?" She looked downright saddened when Rosalie mentioned the test and I felt horrible for the fact that Edward and I hadn't mentioned it sooner.

"I'm not worried Esme. The doctor said to keep my feet up as much as possible and just relax, so how about we just enjoy the bridal shower and we can worry if the test results come back showing there is an issue. It's Rosalie's day, so let's enjoy our overpriced salads, boring tea and crustless cucumber sandwiches," I said with a nervous laugh as Esme patted my shoulder gently.

"We worry because we love you guys so much," she said to me with a small smile. I nodded my head in response and then turned back to the front of the room. All the ladies were chatting happily amongst themselves and I found myself determined to try to enjoy the day. For myself and the baby.

During lunch, we played a game of Wedding Bingo that Alice had arranged. It proceeded to get funnier the more the ladies drank, and fuck could some of them drink. I was shocked by the number of flasks that came out of Kate Spade, Prada and Louis Vuitton handbags. Alice kept everyone entertained with stories of Rosalie and Emmett in their childhood and even Esme seemed surprised by some of the stories she told. Then again, Esme wasn't exactly around during their formative years and it was only three and a half years ago that she became the parent she should have always been.

As lunch was finishing up, Alice handed out a small list which featured one half of a celebrity couple for the next shower game. Whoever could list all their partners the quickest and correctly would win a tennis bracelet. It was a bit extravagant of a gift, considering back in Forks we would probably give a box of wine or something, but I wasn't about to complain. It wasn't my money being spent. Surprisingly, Rosalie's eighty year old Great Aunt Kellie was the one to win. She seemed like one of the quietest women in the room, but when Alice declared her the winner, I literally thought she was going to jump on the table and do a little dance, effectively getting her banned from the restaurant for life.

"Time to open presents," shouted Alice as she called the room to order. All the ladies turned their chairs towards the front where Alice was pulling out a seat for Rosalie. I was given the job of recording who gave what present so that Rosalie could send them a proper thank you note once the day was over. Alice grabbed the first present and offered it up to Rosalie, who looked eager to open it. I didn't blame her, there was quiet a pile of them.

"This one is from Esme," said Rosalie as she pulled at the satin ribbon that went around the box and I wrote down her name. As Rosalie pulled the lid from the box, she turned several different shades of red. "Thanks Esme."

"Um, Rosalie, aren't you supposed to show everyone what you got?" said Alice as Rosalie shook her head vehemently. Alice wasn't taking no for an answer and grabbed at the box, which Rosalie held onto with all her might. Sensing that this was going to get very dirty, Esme stood up and spoke.

"I got her a vibrator. If Emmett is anything like Carlisle was in the middle of our marriage, you will need it." I ran my palm down my face, embarrassed for Rosalie as I haphazardly scrawled down the gift on the list. I certainly hoped that Edward would be nothing like Carlisle in a few years. Thankfully, next up was a set of monogrammed towels from one of Rosalie's aunts.

As the day went on, I was shocked to find out that Esme's side of the family was a bunch of kinky women. Rosalie got lingerie, more sex toys, a French maid outfit for role playing and several flavored bottles of lube. Her Great Aunt Kellie even gave her an anal plug with some beads, which was the highlight of the day, bringing about some very interesting conversation amongst the ladies. Every single time one of the more risqué gifts was opened, Rosalie was hesitant to announce what was received, but Esme was more than happy to tell everyone. I, however, felt like a pervert for having to write down that Granny gave a gift certificate for $1,000 for a weekend in Hedonism.

When every gift was finally opened, we enjoyed coffee and cake before the ladies started to disperse. It was just after four when I finally received my first text of the afternoon from Edward. However, I knew he had been in conversations with Alice throughout the day.

_Emmett and I are a few blocks away with the Jeep. Can we come get the gifts? –E_

_Yeah. We're just finishing up. I'll wait till you get here and we can have your mom drive us home –B_

_Okay baby –E_

Not once did he ask how I was feeling, and I knew that was because I was growing irritated by his constant questioning during the week. Even while I was at the office, he had called several times each day to check in on me. When Carmen and I had to go check on some things in the back storage room, she suggested I bring the cordless phone so I could answer when Edward called, otherwise he might get frantic and worry that I had gone into labor. Thankfully Carmen was really understanding about everything.

When he finally walked into the room and saw me sitting with my feet up, I noticed his face went from tense to relieved. I let out a small laugh until he came over and spoke. "How are you feeling? Did you rest up today?"

"I'm fine Edward. Ask any one of the seventy women who were here, I barely moved out of this chair. Alice did her baby sitting duty very well, so I recommend you offer her some sort of gift for being so thorough," I snapped angrily as I grabbed the arms of the chair and began to stand up. "Esme, can you help me to the car while Edward loads the gifts?"

"Sure thing dear," she replied sweetly as she shrugged her shoulders at Edward, but led me out to the car. Once we were seated, I could tell she was disappointed in me.

"Bella, I know you are used to being independent and strong, but Edward just wants to look out for you and the Peanut. You guys mean the world to him and I would be overprotective if I was in his shoes too. Can you relax a bit around him?" I understood where she was coming from so I shook my head slowly and gave her a gentle hug. Edward showed up several minutes later and hopped into the back seat as she drove us back to our new place.

That night when we finally crawled into bed together, I wrapped my arms around him tightly as I lied on my side, facing him. "I'm sorry I've been combative about you checking up on me."

"I'm sorry I've been so overbearing and overprotective. I'm just worried."

"There's no point to stressing about it Edward. Don't sweat the small shit right?"

"Easier said than done baby doll."

Edward was right, it was easier said than done because halfway through my day on Monday I got a call from Dr. Feldman's office asking us to come in. My nerves immediately set in and when Edward met me at her office, I could see he was even more concerned. Of course, had it been good news, Dr. Feldman would never have called us in, having shared the news on the phone instead. When we finally sat down with her though, she confirmed Edward's fear; I had pre-eclampsia.

**A/N: Next Chapter is Rosalie & Emmett's Wedding, so hold onto your hats :) You're in for a bumpy ride!**


	31. Bedford, NY to Heartbreak

**A/N: Back again with another AB Update. I don't have a lot of stuff to say. Umm… check out Teaser Monday on the Fictionators site, because I will have a teaser there for the next Chapter. **

**Don't forget that there is only a week left for Esme's Erotic Ecstasy contest, so send your entries in as soon as possible to be included. Some friends of mine are also running a contest called 'The Round Mound of Beehound" aka vagina euphemisms, so run and enter! I'm a judge this time around, not an author. There's a link to their site on my profile.**

**That's it. Go read.**

**I don't own Twilight, I do have a huge bag of multi-flavored Jelly Beans and my fav flavor is cinnamon bun.**

**BPOV**

This entire scenario was driving me nuts. I was so used to being independent, being able to do everything for myself and Edward, and now suddenly the roles were reversed and I wasn't enjoying it in the least. I moved to toss my legs over the side of the bed, planning to get up and make us some breakfast, but of course the pregnancy police were out in full force this morning.

"Don't even think about it," sighed Edward as he walked into the room carrying a small tray which actually smelled really good.

"Too late, I already thought about it," I replied snidely as I stood up and took a few tentative steps around the room. Bed rest truly was the worst form of torture. As if being pregnant, being Christmas and being the maid of honor in a wedding the next day wasn't bad enough, now I was confined to this bed most of the time and it was killing me, especially because I felt fine.

I had to sit back and watch as Alice, Rosalie and Edward decorated our first official Christmas tree, which I wasn't even allowed to go help pick out, so it wasn't exactly the best looking thing on the planet. Then, there was no real Christmas baking done because Edward refused to let me do any since it would require me standing for long periods of time. I offered to sit at the dining room table to mix the ingredients and stir any batter, but Edward was right when he told me I would get frustrated easily about not being able to step into the kitchen.

"Bella, seriously, your stubbornness is now just a pain in the ass. We'll be driving up to Boston in a little bit, so just relax a bit in bed before we leave alright?" pleaded Edward as he put the tray down on my nightstand and then came over to me, grasping my hand and helping me back into bed. I lay on my side, like instructed by Dr. Feldman, and reluctantly let Edward help me with my breakfast, which was an egg white omelet and whole wheat toast. I missed real food.

The other thing I was also missing was my privacy. I loved my husband with all of my heart, but the moment Dr. Feldman told us that I had pre-eclampsia and they needed to keep an eye on me constantly, I knew I was done for. I went into work for the first two weeks, but since Edward was spending most of his time calling me or Carmen for updates on how I was doing, it was pointless. Thankfully, Carmen was such an awesome boss; she gave me a company laptop and told me to work on a research project from the comfort of my couch. I think Edward was just driving her nuts with all of his phone calls because that man had radar for calling at the worst possible time.

Once breakfast was done, Edward reluctantly let me go have a shower all by myself, which felt like a small miracle. I couldn't see my feet anymore, so shaving my legs was a bit of a hassle to say the least. I figured if I got it over with today though, then I wouldn't need to worry about it tomorrow morning before the wedding. Rosalie had me on the phone for several hours the night before discussing all sorts of things she was nervous about, but none of them seemed that important to me. Although, I did my best to ease her fears, as all good maids of honor should do, and tried not to stress myself. According to Dr. Feldman, stress made my situation worse because then my blood pressure would rise and we were already having trouble keeping it steady.

When I finally stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in two towels in an effort to keep myself warm, I found Alice sitting on the edge of my bed, which scared the crap out of me. "Rosalie will kill you if you make me go into labor the day before her wedding. Stop scaring me," I told Alice as I put my hands on my hips and glared at her angrily.

"I'm not here to scare you, Preggo. Edward asked me to help you get ready to go to Boston," she stated sweetly as I shook my head and decided to simply relent on this issue. I wasn't happy about being treated like a child, but I knew he was only doing this for my own good and that of the Peanut. Sometimes it was hard to see that what he was doing was right, because it annoyed me so much.

"Fine," I said with a sigh as Alice handed me some clothes and then helped me get dressed. Once that chore was done, she made me sit down and began the menial task of brushing my hair and doing some light makeup. Everything was done in such a way that I wouldn't have to worry about redoing anything before the rehearsal that night, and I had to thank her for that. She really was trying to make my life easier.

I had gone to see Dr. Feldman yesterday and she took my blood pressure and checked my protein levels again, which was a twice weekly occurrence since the diagnosis. Things were a bit elevated, but she didn't think it was bad enough that I had to stay home from the wedding, although she insisted that I rest as much as possible while we were away and if I felt sick at all, to go to the hospital as soon as possible. Other than being sick and tired of being treated like a child, I was fine.

Edward had already packed my bags the night before and my gown was in its garment bag and hung on the back of the bedroom door. The moment Alice was finished with my hair, I was ready to go. "Let's do this shit," I said with a small grin as we walked back into the living room where Edward and Jasper were waiting patiently for us. Seeing as Edward had bought us a new Volvo XC90 just two weeks ago in preparation for the Peanut, we decided to carpool to the wedding. I think Edward also wanted more people to help keep an eye on me, not that every single person in the Cullen family wouldn't be focusing on me already. Ever since we mentioned to the family that I was on bed rest because of my preeclampsia, Esme had been calling every night to check on me. I think that annoyed Edward more than me since he was usually the one forced into talking to her.

The ride to Boston was very quiet. Alice yammered on about the wedding and Christmas, while Edward and Jasper discussed some of the college bowl games they were looking forward to seeing this year. The plan was to go to the Cullen house for Christmas Day, including Rosalie and Emmett, who were not flying out to their honeymoon in Aruba until the 26th of December.

I tried to tune them all out and simply relax, but I knew it wasn't going very well. For the next two nights, we were staying at the Marriott, a few blocks away from the State Room where the wedding reception was being held. I knew Edward was keen on spending Christmas alone with me, but I was looking forward to spending it with his family. My parents were coming out for New Years, so we would see them in New York a few days later.

When we finally checked in to the Marriott, Edward and I took some time to ourselves to relax before we had to get to the church for the rehearsal. As expected, I managed to have a short nap while Edward unloaded our luggage into the closet and dresser, and also called to the front desk to have my dress for the wedding ironed. He woke me up an hour before we had to be at the church and I was reluctant to move.

"Do I have to go?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes and I felt Edward's hands ghosting along my stomach slowly.

"It's only a few hours baby. They have a seat ready for you at the front of the church so you can sit down and Rose promised that the dinner afterwards will go quickly since it's a buffet," said Edward as he tried to soothe me. The Peanut let out a huge kick, which Edward felt, and smiled happily at. "Seriously, it's going to be a linebacker or a soccer player."

"So you keep telling me," I said with a slight groan as Edward helped me sit up in bed and I noticed a dress was laid out on the chair in the corner of the bedroom of our suite.

"Alice picked it out for you while you were sleeping," said Edward as he noticed my confusion. I simply nodded my head and shuffled over to the chair to pick it up. Edward helped me get dressed just as Alice and Jasper showed up. She helped me put my hair back into something that looked somewhat presentable and then we all drove over to the church together.

Rosalie and Emmett were getting married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a few blocks away from the reception site and our hotel, so it only took a few minutes to get there. When we did finally arrive, Rosalie was pacing around the outside of the church aimlessly. "It's about time," she stammered as she rested her hands on her hips and looked like she was about to kill someone.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" asked Alice as we all walked slowly up the front steps of the lavish old church.

"We were waiting on you four to start, so I was a little impatient. This is the day before the biggest day of my life you know," said Rosalie as we followed her into the church where, sure enough, everyone else was waiting including the priest.

"Well, it's a little hard for me to move quickly," I snapped at her as Rosalie came over and gave me a hug, her arms now unable to wrap completely around me because of the size of the Peanut.

"I know sweetie, but the sooner you we get this over, the sooner we can party tonight," she said sweetly. Rosalie than leaned over and began to rub my stomach, which was something she didn't usually do. So, I relented a little in my criticism in her, until she began barking orders at everyone again. I was half tempted to walk up to him and ask him to perform an exorcism on the demon bride, but I didn't think Rose would like that much, although the rest of us would find it hilarious.

Esme and Carlisle were perched in a front pew talking animatedly to George and Sandra Hale, Rosalie's parents. Emmett was pacing around nervously with two of his college friends who were also in the wedding party with Jasper and Edward, of course. The rest of Rosalie's bridal party was comprised of two of her cousins, which her mother made her use as bridesmaids.

The rehearsal was quick and painless, thankfully, with the priest telling us about the various parts of the ceremony, who would do what and finally ending with Emmett and Rosalie repeating their vows. They kissed passionately when they were announced husband and wife and I giggled as I watched Emmett grab her ass in front of the entire family, claiming he had to get it out of the way now instead of during the real ceremony the next day. Once that was over, we drove down to a small Italian restaurant near the waterfront where Rosalie had reserved their largest room.

After we ate dinner and conversed happily, Emmett and Rosalie made a quick speech to thank all of us for making their wedding so special and then handed each member of the bridal party a gift. The boys all got monogrammed flasks and the girls all got bachelorette party totes bags filled with goodies. There was a cosmetic bag filled with nail polish and makeup, some lotions, slippers and bathrobes, all part of the grand plan for the rest of the evening, which was a slumber party in Rosalie's suite. We had originally planned to head out to a strip joint and a few bars for the night, but with me being confined to bed rest, Rosalie insisted on changing things around and making it a girls' night in. Of course, I didn't mention the stripper I had hired to come to her room later.

"Okay, we boys have got to go. We have places to get to, beers to drink," said Emmett as he stood up and signaled the end of the night. Edward leaned over and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips, which left me wanting more, especially since our sexual relations had done a severe nosedive the moment we got our pre-eclampsia diagnosis.

"I promise I won't stay out too late tonight. What time are you girls supposed to be heading to bed?" he asked with a smile towards Rosalie and the rest of her bridal party.

"I'm probably gonna cut out of the fun early. I'm already feeling a little tired, but at least I get to lie in bed while the rest of the gang parties like its 1999," I said with a laugh as Edward ran his hands through my hair and leaned in for another kiss, this time on my forehead.

"Well, behave yourself and take it easy please," he said with a gentle pat to my stomach as I nodded my head and bid him farewell. Alice and I took the Volvo back to the hotel and got changed into our pajamas before making our way to up Rosalie's suite, where instead of a bed, she had a chaise lounge all setup so that I could lie down the entire time and participate just as much as the rest of the girls.

There were massive amounts of booze going around and I suffered with apple cider. Rosalie opened some gifts that were just as embarrassing as the sex toys she had received at her bridal shower earlier in the month, but at least none were from her grandmother, who wasn't hanging out with us for the night. Just after ten, Esme and Sandra both called it a night and I was tempted to leave with them, but the stripper Alice and I had hired still hadn't been there yet.

"Bella, are you alright over there?" slurred Alice drunkenly as I nodded my head slowly in response. I pulled my slippers off and noticed that my ankles looked a little swollen, but they felt fine, so I didn't stress. This bachelorette party was a stress free zone, in my opinion.

"I'm doing just fine. I wish the entertainment was here though so I could head back to my room," I said quietly to Alice, not wanting to ruin the surprise we had planned for Rose. I didn't even care about seeing the show, I just wanted to see Rosalie's face when he showed up and stripped off his gear, hopefully revealing his tight and chiseled body. Maybe I would end up staying around for the show, I thought to myself as I suddenly found myself excited. Rosalie had a thing about policemen, and he was supposed to be dressed as a hot cop, so I knew she would be beyond excited when he arrived. Alice looked at me and was about to speak when my cell phone buzzed on the small table in front of me, with a text from Edward.

_How are the loves of my life doing? –E_

_Tired but hanging in there. How is the party? –B_

_Not what I expected. The bar is boring –E_

_Are you enjoying yourself? –B_

_I will be once the five shots I just did sink in. I will see you tomorrow at the church okay? Alice promised she would stay with you tonight because Em wants me with him tonight and tomorrow. Is this okay? –E_

I ran my palm down my face, feeling a little disappointed that Edward wasn't going to be back in our room tonight. Cuddling with Alice wouldn't be the same as cuddling with my husband, although I did recall Jasper once saying she was a really good spooner.

_Okay. I'll miss you –B_

_I love you. If you need anything, call me –E_

_I love you too –B_

"Are you texting Edward?" questioned Rosalie as I nodded my head slowly. "Why the hell would he text you from a titty joint?"

"Excuse me?" I asked as I let out a small cough, surprised that Edward wasn't at a bar like he had told me they were, but rather at a strip joint. I wasn't completely against him being there, but I was against him consuming mass quantities of booze while there.

"The boys were heading on over to 'Tops & Bottoms' for some drinks and lap dances," said Rosalie, sounding unashamed of the fact that her soon to be husband was spending the night glaring at and stuffing bills down the g-strings of other women.

I was about to comment about how Edward hadn't told me their plans, when there was a loud knock on the door. "Open up. It's the Police." Rosalie's eyes bugged out and Alice whipped open the door to show a plain looking man who looked like he should be in a Proactiv commercial. He was dressed in a horribly ugly imitation cop uniform and I immediately thought they sent the wrong guy. "Which one of you is Rosalie Hale?"

Rosalie tentatively raised her hand as he put his old school looking CD player on the center table and everyone looked around anxiously. _God, I hoped we were being punked!_

I watched as Alice went over to whisper something to the gangly looking guy, who should probably be part of the Nerd Herd from Chuck and not working as a stripper in Boston. He started to look a little sad when Alice finally relented and he turned on the music, 'Hey Big Spender' coming out of the speakers and we all cringed a little bit.

"Who wants to see the long arm of the law?" the stripper asked as he stroked his nightstick and then grabbed his crotch. "That's right ladies, Officer Goodbody is in the building. "I think I heard a quiet 'ewww' fall from Rosalie's mouth as I ran my hand down my face and then touched my stomach when the baby kicked. What I really wanted to do was run and hide in shame for hiring this idiot.

"Oh my god, this guy is gonna get naked in my room? I won't be able to sleep tonight," whispered Rosalie, her voice laden with fear, but all I could find it in me to do was laugh, which was the wrong thing because the stripper looked at me with disdain as I did.

"I should warn you ladies, I have a concealed weapon… in my pants," he shouted eagerly as he then grabbed the sides of his pants, pulling them off of his body to reveal his chicken legs and knobby knees. "I hope you girls are familiar with this states penal code. Ok, enough teasing, it's now time for some pleasing."

I lay on my side and watched in complete horror as the guy stumbled his way around the room, peeling off the rest of his clothes in the process. Ten minutes later when he finally left, the entire room breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a fucking disaster," Rosalie muttered, but at least she seemed happy. It could just be the booze though. "Okay Bells, you get a reprieve, you can head back to your room for the night. You and Ali can join us in the morning around nine for hair and makeup." Rosalie came over and gave me a bug hug and I felt relieved that I was getting a reprieve finally.

"Thanks baby," I whispered into her ear as she walked me towards the door. Alice headed back to the room with me, feeling too drunk to stay any longer and we climbed into bed together as I found myself missing Edward more than I thought I would.

Hair and makeup was pretty trouble-free in the morning and before I knew it, we were all sitting in the bridal suite at the church waiting for the ceremony to officially start. Edward and I had exchanged text messages all morning and he was feeling exhausted and hung over, but overall he claimed he was fine. He couldn't remember part of the evening, so I was certain he managed to have a good time.

I was sitting in my dress, which felt a little snug compared to my last fitting the week before and I was now wearing my slippers instead of the strappy shoes I was originally supposed to wear. I felt bad about the fact that I was going to stand out like a sore thumb during the entire wedding, but Rosalie kept reassuring me throughout the day that it would be fine. All I needed to do was walk down the aisle and sit in the chair setup for me. I could handle this.

"Are you girls almost ready?" asked Sandra as she came in the bridal suite just before four. We were all dressed, primped and Rosalie looked like she was going to throw up.

"Are you alright Rosalie?" I asked her quietly as I walked up and wrapped my arm over her shoulder. Her fitted white lace dress was hanging perfectly off her shoulders and she looked stunning, but nervous. "You know, pretty soon you will see Emmett and the nerves will disappear. I promise you." I rubbed the small of her back, trying like hell not to wrinkle the dress.

"I trust you."

"You should. I've done this before and it was just as nerve-wracking, but well worth it," I explained to her as she rested her head on my shoulder, careful not to ruin her hair. "Come on, let's get to it. Emmett wants to be with you for the rest of his life and you deserve the happiness he will bring you."

"Okay, you are right. There is no reason to be nervous. Let's get this shit over, so we can move onto the fun stuff… the honeymoon."

Alice and the other two bridesmaids led the way out of bridal suite and we lined up outside of the sanctuary, waiting for the music to start, signaling that we would have to begin to walk down the aisle. When we finally time, I kept my eyes trained on Edward the entire time, since it had been over twenty four hours since I had seen him last. He looked so damn handsome standing there in his tuxedo, that I almost forgot to sit in the chair they had setup for me.

During the entire ceremony, Edward and I kept our eyes on each other. The vows were said, rings were exchanged but I honestly didn't pay too much attention. If there was someone in that room other than my husband, I didn't know it. When it was finally time for them to announce 'Mr. & Mrs. Emmett Cullen', I was both relieved and anxious.

Edward helped me from my seat and we made our way into the bridal suite for a few minutes alone. "How are you doing?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around me, well as much as he could considering my size, and kissed my forehead.

"I'm doing alright. My ass hurts from sitting for most of the day, but we're doing okay," I said as I softly patted my stomach. Edward moved his hand against my belly, my dress wrinkling a bit in the process, but I didn't care.

"Are you sure you are alright? Your feet look a bit swollen and so do your hands," Edward commented as I lifted my fingers up and staring at them, not noticing anything different than when I looked at them last. "Do you remember what Dr. Feldman told you about your blood pressure last time you saw her?"

"Yeah, she said it was a bit elevated, but nothing major," I said with a sigh as Edward kissed my cheek and Alice bounced into the room, interrupting us.

"Sorry gang, but we need to go get some photos taken before the reception, so let's get on it. The limo is waiting." Edward grasped his hand firmly in mine and led the way outside and to the comfort of the limo.

Dinner was a lot less excruciating than I expected, with the exception of Emmett's awkward speech to the guests. Edward did a wonderful job on his best man speech, but considering he fretted over it more than he did the Peanut, it was bound to be perfect. He had spent many a restless night trying to come up with just the right anecdote to tell that wasn't too embarrassing, which was the hardest part, since almost everything involving Emmett was embarrassing or would incriminate him of something illegal.

After dinner, the cake was cut and then dancing was enjoyed while I sat in my somewhat comfortable seat, trying my best to relax. It wasn't happening though. I urged Edward to get out on the dance floor with Alice and Rosalie, as well as a few other members of his family, but every time he danced, he looked over at me remorsefully. I knew he wanted to be dancing with me, but I wasn't exactly allowed to do the Hustle or anything remotely close to a dance.

Shortly before ten, Rosalie grabbed the seat next to me and sat down, looking both ecstatic and exhausted. "You and Edward did the right thing by eloping. This shit is crazy," she said with a grin. Of course I knew she was lying. She was reveling in the entire scene because it was all about her. She was the center of attention.

"I don't regret it at all. I loved the fact that our wedding was all about us," I admitted as Rosalie pulled her cell phone out of her tiny clutch purse. "Who's calling you during your fricking reception?"

"It's Emmett's phone sending me a picture. If he took a down the pants shot and sent it to me telling me what I have to look forward to when the night is over, I think I might have to kick him in the junk," she said with a laugh as she opened it up and we both looked, curious as to what the photo might be of.

"Jesus Fuck," I cursed out as my hand clenched the arm of the chair and I looked down at the phone in shock. Rosalie quickly closed it and looked at me with concern on her face.

"I'm sure that wasn't what it looked like," she said ruefully as she shoved her phone in her purse and began scanning the room for her new husband, most likely to find out what the hell was going on. Why the hell would he send her that? Why did that photo even exist?

"Well, unless Edward can explain why his shirt was off and some chick had her nipple in his mouth, we have some big fucking issues to deal with," I shouted loudly as my fist hit the table again and some nearby wedding guests noticed my outburst. I grabbed Rosalie's purse and quickly fetched her phone from it as I finally stood up and waddled over to the dance floor to find my husband, who was dancing with his mother and smiling cheerfully.

"What the fuck is this?" I yelled at him as I threw the phone at him and he looked at me in complete shock. My heart was racing and I suddenly didn't feel good at all, but then again the prospect of my husband cheating on me could do that. "One night apart and you are with someone else?"

Emmett rushed over with Rosalie, his cell phone in his hand and he looked remorseful. "That was never supposed to be seen Bella. It was a complete accident. I was trying to delete it," he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the dance floor and out into the hallway with Rosalie and Edward following behind us, so we didn't interrupt the entire reception. "Edward was really drunk and probably doesn't even remember it."

"He doesn't remember having someone else's tit in his mouth? I find that really hard to believe," I shouted at Emmett as I reached out and shoved him a bit, before turning towards Edward, the fury clear on my face. "What the fuck did you think you were doing? You're sick seven months pregnant wife was holed up in a hotel room and you decided to go climb on the first willing chick cause your wife hasn't put out in over a month?"

"I have no fucking idea what you are talking about Bella. So calm down, because it 's not good for the baby," he stated firmly as he reached out to touch me and I backed away. I grabbed Emmett's phone and handed it to him as I watched in horror as he looked down at the photo on the small screen, his face turning from one of confusion to one of regret.

"Do you remember it all now asshole?"

"Bella, I think you guys should go back to the hotel and talk about this," said Rosalie as she wrapped her arm over my shoulder supportively. "I'm sure there is a good explanation for all of this."

"All I want is an answer from him about what the fuck he was thinking. Did you go find release elsewhere because I couldn't help you?" I shouted as my hands began to shake. I was so fucking enraged and Edward just stood there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

Edward ran his hands through his hair anxiously and I could see that he was looking just as frustrated as I was. "If you honestly believe that I could do something like that Bella, you clearly don't know me at all."

"Fuck you," I spat back as I began to rub my temple, a headache suddenly coming on from all the god damned screaming. Edward stood there with his mouth wide open, looking like he had a million things to say to me, but instead he just turned on his heel and walked down the hallway and away from sight.

"Are you alright Bella?" asked Rosalie as I pressed my hand against the wall and struggled to balance myself. My knees felt like they would give out at anytime and then I had a spasm in my lower back, and my other hand immediately went there to ease the pain. I looked up at Rosalie, but she wasn't in focus as my vision was slightly blurred now. There was no way this was good. "Bella hon… I asked you if you were alright."

"I need you to take me to a hospital right away. I think something is seriously wrong."

**A/N: You guys are welcome to hate me for leaving it there. The next chapter is going to the beta tonight and I am hoping to post it in 2-3 days, so relax and go review. Lots of reviews makes me want to post the next chapter faster.**


	32. Heartbreak to the OR

**A/N: See, I promised I would be back quickly. Thanks for all the awesome reviews; I got the most ever for this story. Perhaps that was because I pissed so many of you off. Should I do it again? Let's see shall we. LOL**

**Thanks for MaggieMay14 for beta job, flightlessbird11 from talking me out of making it worse than it was and Risbee for being my lesbian soul mate! Big thanks for Krissy7 and bacmel79 who graciously told me about their own pregnancy horror stories, some of which is included in this chapter.**

**Song suggestions… 'Ungodly Hour' by The Fray and 'This Woman's Work' by Kate Bush (both available on my profile) were instrumental for this chapter. I recommend listening to Kate Bush while reading the EPOV. I'm evil.**

**I don't own Twilight, I do own every season of Entourage on DVD.**

**BPOV**

"Are you alright back there?" questioned Emmett, as he sat in the passenger seat of the limo that was supposed to take him and Rosalie to their hotel for their first night as husband and wife. The moment I thought something was wrong; he ran to get the driver and forced him to take us to the nearest hospital. Only I would be heading to the hospital in a limo on the night my best friend got married.

"I'm fine… a little uncomfortable and still very fucking angry at my asshole of a husband, but I am hanging in there Em," I said as I resumed the Lamaze breathing which Alice and Rosalie were forcing upon me as we sat in the back of the car with Esme. Carlisle and Jasper has disappeared from the reception and went to find Edward, who had disappeared almost ten minutes ago.

Thankfully, Massachusetts General Hospital was only a few blocks away, but the true madness began when we pulled up to the emergency room entrance, in our formal clothes, and Emmett went crazy. "We need to get her to a doctor immediately," he screamed as he ran through the automatic doors, leaving the girls to help me out of the car. Even the limo driver was more attentive than Emmett at that moment.

When we finally made it through the doors, I realized that I couldn't have been more thankful that Esme was with us. "My daughter in law needs to be checked out immediately. I believe she is 32 weeks along, right?" she asked me calmly as I aimlessly nodded my head. I was trying with all my might to deal with the pain and not fall to the floor. "She was also diagnosed with pre-eclampsia a month ago and had an argument with her husband earlier tonight."

The nurse asked me a few questions which I quickly answered, but all I could think about in that moment was how much I wanted Edward here with me. No matter how mad I was at him, I needed him here. There was no way I could do this without him.

I was quickly admitted into a room and given a bed, all the while they were running tests on me and asking dozens of questions. They were a little frustrated that I wasn't a local resident and therefore my doctor wasn't nearby, but they were quick to do their assessments of me. "We're going to keep you here and monitor you for a while. It's possible that your blood pressure could go down in the next few hours, but we're not one hundred percent certain Mrs. Cullen."

And so began the hourly task of peeing in a cup and having my blood pressure taken. Alice and Rosalie did their best to help and distract me, but after hour two and there was still no sign of Edward, things weren't looking too good.

"So, what are you guys going to name the Peanut?" asked Rosalie from the chair beside my bed. She was still dressed in her wedding dress and every time someone came into our room, they were giving her funny glances. Most of the time when they turned to leave, she flipped them the middle finger and I let out a small laugh.

"I'm not saying," I said seriously, as I mocked zipping my mouth and throwing away the key. "Edward and I have two names picked out and we decided to wait until he makes his arrival before deciding. We would hate to give him a name and then he comes out and looks completely different than whatever name we chose." Rosalie gave out a small laugh as Alice came back in the room with her arms loaded down with things from the gift shop.

"Okay, I got you a book of Sudoku games," she said as she rested the book on the small table in front of me and I quirked my eyebrow at her.

"I don't do Sudoku," I said with a slight grimace as a pain shot through my abdomen momentarily. When I let out a huge sigh of relief, Rosalie and Alice both looked at me with concern. "It's all good, I promise."

"Well, if you don't want it, I am certain Emmett will want to do the puzzles while we wait. He's not very good, but he thinks he is," laughed Rosalie as she lightened the mood in the room tenfold. "He should be back from the hotel really soon with a change of clothes for all of us. I gave him the room key that was in your purse so that he could get you something too."

"You do realize I'm probably not getting out of here anytime soon right Rosie?" I said quietly as she looked at me with tears forming in her eyes. Ever since I had been diagnosed earlier in the month, I had done as much research about pre-eclampsia as I could. After all, there wasn't that much I could do when I was resting ninety percent of the time, so I had a TV tray on the bed and my laptop, which made research and writing on Facebook easy. "I know what all of this means. The doctors are just trying to monitor me to determine how serious this is for the baby. If things get worse, he'll be born soon."

"Really?" she choked out, the tears now on her face. "I'm sorry if I am getting all emotional. You are taking this much better than I am."

"I just know what to expect Rosalie. I know that every hour they will continue to check me. If I am not getting better, it's only logical that they deliver him. It's the safest answer at that point," I said as Dr. Merritt walked in and tried his best to smile.

"Are you ready for another round of peeing?" I reluctantly nodded my head and accepted the cup from him as I made my way over to the bathroom, holding my drafty hospital gown closed behind me. Of course, it was right at that moment that Emmett had to show up in the room and caught a view of my tush.

"Nice ass," he commented as he got a dirty glare from Rosalie. "Here ya go baby. I brought you and Alice a change of clothes and since I had no idea what to bring, I just brought a whole bunch of stuff." I closed the door behind me and listened to their muffled voices discussing jeans and tank tops as I tried to focus on the task at hand. It took longer than expected and when I walked back into the room, leaving my cup behind in the bathroom with the lid on it, as instructed by Tracy, my nurse, the girls had already changed.

"Where's Esme?" I inquired, remembering that she had left the room half an hour earlier to go make a few phone calls.

"She's pacing impatiently in the lounge and yelling at unsuspecting doctors," laughed Alice as I gave her a small halfheartedly smile and Tracy came back over to the bed and helped me in before taking my blood pressure again. She gave me a small tentative smile when she was done and I was finally beginning to worry.

"What's going on?"

"It's fine Bella. Dr. Merritt will be back in to talk to you in a little bit," she said anxiously, as she then turned to leave. I grasped her wrist firmly and when she faced me again, I was practically begging her with my eyes to tell me something… anything, to make this better. "Your blood pressure isn't lowering Bella. Are you telling Dr. Merritt about all of your issues?"

"I told him about the vision that was blurry back at the reception, the slight swelling in my ankles and hands, the weakness in the knees and the ache in my side," I said quietly as she looked at me with wide eyes.

"When did the ache in your side begin?"

"Only about an hour ago?" Tracy jotted down some notes in the chart that was at the end of my bed and then raised her finger to me, signaling for me to wait, before stepping out of the room. She was back only two minutes later with Dr. Merritt.

"How often are you having pains Bella?" he inquired as I glanced down at the clock.

"The last one was ten minutes ago I guess."

"We think they might be contractions. Can your friends step out of the room so I can do a quick exam?" he inquired as I immediately tensed up. This was clearly not a good thing. Where the fuck was Edward?

"Can my mother in law come in?" I asked as my hands clutched at the edge of the bed and Dr. Merritt nodded his head. Within a minute, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett had vacated the room and Esme was sitting in the chair at my side, holding my hand firmly in hers and trying her best to reassure me.

After the exam was done, Dr. Merritt let me know that I was already a centimeter dilated and I became anxious. The doctor explained that if my blood pressure didn't go down or if the protein levels in my urine increased too much, then I would have to have the Peanut as soon as possible. They were hopeful that everything would rectify itself, but when the doctor told me that more often than not women in my situation ended up delivering, I began to cry.

"Where the hell is my husband?" I cried onto Esme's shoulder as she hugged me as closely as she could. I could tell she was trying to hold it all together, but she was just as worried and anxious as I was.

"Carlisle and Jasper are doing everything in their power to find him. Unfortunately, he has turned off his cell phone so we can't call him. I did call your parents though and they are taking the next flight out of Seattle," she explained and I thanked her quietly. "I offered them the Cullen jet, but I wasn't surprised when they refused. They should be here in town by the morning."

Tomorrow morning… Christmas.

I had been thinking for the past few months that I would be having a February baby and here I was, already dilated and facing the possibility of having my child on Christmas. I was still wrapped up in my thoughts when my friends made their way back into the room, each of them carrying a drink of coffee. I hadn't even realized that it was now almost one in the morning and we had been here since just after ten.

I tried my best to relax, but it didn't help matters that all the conversation around me seemed to involve Edward's possible location. Emmett left the room several times to make phone calls to Jasper and Carlisle, who were getting close to giving up finding him. They had been looking for over three hours and the longer it seemed to take, the more I worried.

"So, how do you think the rest of your reception went?" I asked of Em and Rosalie, as I did my best to take my mind off of my troubles.

"Well, I heard after we left my Uncle Mort tried to steal some of the gifts," laughed Emmett as Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Rosalie's mother apparently found him with some fancy coffee maker thing, trying to load it into the back of his truck."

"Are you serious?" I asked with a small laugh as Emmett shook his head in the negative.

"I wish I was. I called my Aunt Tessie when I was back at the hotel to get the clothes and she let me know that her and my Uncle Steve eventually told everyone what was going on and that the reception ended shortly after that." I smiled again at Em, but knew that his stories weren't doing much to ease my concerns. "Do you want me to go and look for Edward too?" he asked sheepishly as I shook my head in the negative.

"No. Anyways, if you leave, who will teach me how to do a Sudoku game?" I said jokingly as Emmett smiled brightly at me. He came to sit beside me and I opened up one of the books, hopeful that this would take my mind off of everything. Too bad I hated numbers and puzzles.

"You should take it easy Bella. All this stress isn't good for you or the Peanut," said Esme as she wandered back into the room and shook her head 'no', when everyone looked at her expectantly. It was clear that Edward was still missing. "We should focus on all the great things that will happen once the baby is here."

"They smell so good," stated Alice as we all looked at her in surprise. "What? One of the girls in my design class had a baby girl and I saw her in the hospital. Seriously good baby smells." I let out a small, yet anxious laugh and did my best to focus on my family, because everyone in that room was now a relative of mine.

"What about their tiny fingers and toes? They are so cute I just want to eat them up," added Rosalie as I watched her climb onto Emmett's lap and wrap her arms around his neck, getting herself comfortable. "Ooh, and don't Pampers smell good? I've heard they smell like baby powder and Huggies just smell like… well, nothing."

"I don't even have any diapers," I said remorsefully. There were a lot of things Edward and I didn't have yet for the baby because we didn't think we needed them yet. We had no diapers, no wipes and only a small amount of clothes. It was a small miracle that the nursery was done back home and I knew that Esme & Carlisle had a bassinette and some things back at their home. Hell, we hadn't even had a baby shower yet. Rosalie and Alice thought they would be surprising me with one in the middle of January, but it was hard to get anything past me these days, so I was completely aware of what they were planning.

"We can go buy diapers Bella, though I don't think the hospital is out of diapers. I am sure that if the Peanut comes along soon, they will have something for him," said Esme soothingly, although I didn't feel very soothed at that moment.

"I have no clothes for him either."

"Oh well, I have a few outfits back at the hotel that I was going to give you and Edward for Christmas," chimed in Alice with a bright smile on her face. "I have a few onesies, one of which says 'I'm full of shit' and the other says 'I'm here because daddy didn't pull out.'"

"Yeah, that's awesome Alice. I can take my son home from the hospital in a novelty onesie with curse words on it," I replied sarcastically, as I rolled my eyes and looked towards the door of the room, where Jasper was walking in looking very dejected. He was alone, so he clearly had no luck finding Edward.

Instead of talking to me though, he stepped out into the hallway with Emmett and Esme and in walked Tracy when they had left. She handed me the cup and I climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to reluctantly and nervously do my duty, surprised that another hour had passed. When I came back a few minutes later, she quickly took my blood pressure and darted out of the room before saying anything to me, which was weird. When Tracy came back in, Dr. Merritt was with her again.

"Bella, are you seeing spots?" the doctor questioned as I closed my eyes for a moment, and sure enough, there they were. I nodded my head slowly and he stared at the chart in front of him. "I'm going to be really honest with you here Bella. Your blood pressure isn't going down; in fact it was 202 over 102, which is really dangerous for the baby, so we are going to get you ready for a c-section this morning."

I heard the words fall from his mouth, but I don't think they registered that I was about to have the Peanut.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" I asked as I looked around the room at the faces of Alice and Rosalie who both looked on the verge of bawling.

"The best thing we can do for you and the baby Bella is to get him out. He faces the more risks the longer he is in there," Dr. Merritt said stoically as Esme walked in a moment later, flanked by Jasper and Emmett. "I'll have Tracy come back in a few minutes and we will start prepping you. Don't worry Bella. Since you're already at 32 weeks, the baby should be just fine."

"No…I have to wait until my husband gets here," I called out angrily as Dr. Merritt put my chart down and stared at me, any sweetness in his eyes disappearing.

"Bella, I'm only doing what is necessary for the health of you and your child. If you want to wait, you are putting both of you at further risk, and even though I don't know your husband, I'm certain he wouldn't want that," he stated firmly as I felt like a child who had been scolded for taking a cookie from the jar. I nodded my head remorsefully as watched as he walked out the room briskly.

All at once, every single emotion that I had tried to force away as I worried about the welfare of my son bubbled up and I began crying inconsolably. "This is my entire fault. If hadn't gotten upset with Edward over something he didn't even remember doing, I wouldn't be here about to have our baby without him. You and You," I yelled out pointing to Emmett and Jasper. "Go fucking find him and drag him back here as soon as you can. If he misses this, he will never forgive me."

"Bella, you need to calm down sweetie," advised Rosalie as she patted my hand and my tears began to stop falling and I turned from remorseful into angry.

"I won't be able to calm the fuck down until Edward is here. No matter how much I may be disappointed with him right now for what he did, I should never have reacted the way I did. I should have let him explain, because there was probably a rational explanation for everything right?" I asked of her and she nodded her head slowly.

"It's not his fault Bella, I swear," began Emmett as my eyes darter over to his and narrowed. "He spilled beer on his shirt and took it off to take it into the bathroom to try and clean it. When he got back, he was so drunk he was basically passed out and we thought it would be funny. It was all a setup and the photo was never meant to go anywhere. I'm so sorry," finished Emmett as I tried with all my might to get my ass out of my bed and beat the shit out of my brother in law.

"Get the fuck out of my room Emmett Cullen," I shouted as Rosalie continued to pat my hand, thinking that she was soothing me. "This is all your fucking fault. If you hadn't been a childish ass, insistent on playing pranks none of this would have happened."

"I know," he said remorsefully.

"Get out and go find my husband. Then apologize to him for being a complete fucking moron," I added as Emmett saluted me and pulled Jasper with him out of the room. When I looked over at Alice & Rosalie, my anger was still in full force. "Okay, now go find some baby clothes and diapers. There must be a Walgreens open around here somewhere," I said to Rosalie firmly, but she just nodded her head. She probably wanted to get the hell out of the room with the crazy woman in it.

"Are you alright Bella?" questioned Esme as she sat down beside me and we watched as Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie all left the room, leaving just her and Alice with me.

"I will be perfectly fine when Edward gets here," I said as my hands started shaking and there was some beeping on one of the monitors.

Tracy walked in a minute later and began to check my blood pressure again, frowning at me because she no doubt heard me screaming from the nurses' station. "Okay Bella, I'll be back in about five minutes and then we will prep you and take you down to the operating room," she began to say before launching into a long winded explanation of what would happen and reminding me to stay calm. Esme was hanging on her every word but I couldn't get my mind off of Edward. I needed him here.

I couldn't do this without him.

**EPOV**

I think I wandered around Boston for over two hours in the cold; clutching my tuxedo jacket tightly around me, until I finally found a small bar and made my way in. I had been getting odd looks from almost everyone I passed, which wasn't many people since it was Christmas Eve. Anyone with half a brain was home with their family sipping egg nog in front of the fire or putting together the last minute gifts for the kids.

I, however, was furious and had nowhere to go. I couldn't go back to the reception and face my family and I definitely couldn't head back to the hotel because that was surely where Bella would have gone. Unless of course she just packed up her shit and headed back to New York. I certainly wouldn't put it past her considering how upset she was when I stormed away from the reception.

My main problem though, was that I had no idea what the hell had happened to begin with. The photo was obviously me, but I didn't remember any of it happening. Who the hell would do this to me? If this was some sort of fucked up joke, I was seriously considering shanking a fucker. I was livid.

"What will you have bud?" asked the surly looking bartender, pulling me from my thoughts. I noticed a band on his left hand and figured he was probably so brusque because he wished he was home with his family instead of passing out swill in this dump.

"A shot of whiskey. Make it a double," I stated as he looked me up and down and then demanded I.D., which made me laugh. Sure, I wasn't in my forties or anything, but it had been a while since I had been carded at a bar. I looked around the bar and noticed that other than me, there were only a few people in here. All of them looking worse for the wear.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Surly McSurlyson, which was what I began to call him in my mind, since he didn't give me his name and I was honestly a bit afraid to ask.

"Got in a fight with my wife at my brother's wedding," I admitted as he slid the drink in front of me and I downed it all, immediately asking for another. "She thinks I cheated on her and it is actually the last thing I would ever do in a million years."

Surly poured me another drink as I put my wallet and cell phone on the top of the bar, and took the uncomfortable jacket off, resting it beside them. "How long have you been married?" he asked, no doubt curious because of my age.

"Five months. We eloped in Vegas during a road trip across the U.S.," I explained to him as his eyes lit up.

"Have you ever seen the silo that is a hotel in like Indiana? I saw that shit on the Travel Channel one night and told the wife about it. She just laughed in my face," Surly said with a gruff laugh as I nodded my head.

"Yeah, we stayed there. It's actually not that bad. Drag your wife to their website and she might reconsider," I replied as he looked at me, with a small bit of hope in his eyes. "How long have you been married?"

"Twenty four years in May," he stated proudly as he flashed his band and then pulled a photo from behind the bar of his wife and their three kids. "The oldest is John, middle son is Thomas and the youngest is my darling Emily," he said with some enthusiasm, which made me think of my own son that was due to be born in a few months.

"My wife is pregnant with our first child, a son," I said sadly as Surly patted me heavily on the back.

"Congrats man, babies are awesome. We would have a whole houseful of them if we could afford it," he stated as he slipped the picture away and I forced back the second shot he had given me before settling for a beer. "When is she due?"

"Valentine's Day."

"Awesome man. That's great news. Do you guys have a name picked out cause I have a few recommendations if you don't," he added with a booming laugh as two of the guys who were playing pool decided to leave and Surly gave them a quick goodbye and wished them a Merry Christmas. I glanced down at my watch and saw that sure enough, it was now past midnight, so it was Christmas.

And I was spending it in a bar with Surly McSurlyson.

Less than an hour later, I stumbled off towards the bathroom and when I came back, Surly was looking guilty as hell. I had to admit, that for such a gruff and mean looking old bastard, he had been a great friend to me tonight. "Has anyone ever told you that you rock Surly?" I stammered out drunkenly as he let out another loud laugh and simply smiled.

"Not today man, not today."

"Well, let me just say that I will now consider naming my son Surly, after you," I said as I took the final swig of my beer and let out a low groan. "Another one?" I asked with a raised eye brow.

"Who the fuck is Surly?"

"You are."

"My name is Bob," he said firmly as the bell over the door sounded and a customer walked in. Technically, the bar should have closed half an hour earlier, but Surly had left it open as we chatted about the disaster my life was currently in. "We're closed man."

"That's alright. I'm just here for him," said the voice of my father as I turned around in my swivel seat and looked into the eyes of my dear old dad. He was clearly disappointed in me. "How much has he had to drink?"

"Four shots and three beers. He's paid his bill though, so you don't have to worry about it. Give him a bit of a break though, he's heartbroken," said Bob as my dad came forward and sat on the bar stool beside me. "Want something?"

"Do you have any coffee? I've been wandering the streets of Boston for three and a half hours looking for my moron of a son, and I could really use something hot, Bob." I looked at Carlisle incredulously as Bob began to prepare a pot of coffee and Carlisle was rubbing his hands together to stay warm. "It's starting to snow outside. Emmett should be here to pick us up in about ten minutes, so sober up."

"How the fuck do you know Bob?" I yelled at my father as I slammed my empty bottle down on the bar simply for effect. After all, it wasn't like I was drinking from it.

"How do you think I found you Edward? You went to the bathroom and Bob, out of sheer concern for you, turned on your cell phone and found the first number that would pick up… me." I looked wide eyed at my dad and was suddenly overcome with tears as I hugged him, for the first time in a very long time.

"I fucked up so bad Dad and I don't even remember what the fuck I did. There's these pictures that I don't recall being taken and Bella saw them cause Emmett is a fucking moron," I began to say as the booze was clearly kicking in because I couldn't stop the word vomit that was coming out of my mouth. "She hates my guts and I honestly don't blame her if she leaves because how the fuck could I even consider doing something like that. Bella is my life. She and that Peanut are all I have. She can't leave me. I won't be able to live without them. How the fuck can I fix this?"

"The first thing to do is sober the fuck up and drink the damned coffee," my father scolded as his cell phone suddenly started ringing and he mouthed to me that it was my mother. Bob slid two mugs of coffee in front of us and my father took a sip as he began cryptically talking to my mother.

"What did they say?" he asked as I quirked an eye brow, before I began wondering why the hell my mother was even awake at almost two in the morning. "As soon as Emmett is here we will get over there. Thankfully, we are just a few blocks away. At least Edward had the presence of mind to stay in the city." I looked at my father, the confusion ripe on my face as he paused for a moment before talking again. "He's fine. Drunk as a skunk, but he'll be alright Esme." He closed the phone and took a big sip of the boiling hot and surprisingly tasty coffee. Why was it all the little hole in the wall joints had the best coffee?

Just as Carlisle was about to finish his cup a few minutes later, the door whipped open and there stood an angry looking Emmett. "Do I have to beat the shit out of him or will he get to the car with his own two feet?"

"He's okay Emmett. A little drunk, but he's fine because he doesn't know anything yet," said my father as I stood from my seat and pulled on my tuxedo jacket. I wasn't looking forward to going anywhere in that cold Christmas night. "We can tell him when we get there."

"Where are we going?"

"Just shut up and get in the car asshole," sighed Emmett as he held the door open for me. I thanked Bob for his ear, as well as the beers, before wishing him a Merry Christmas. He shouted for me to do the same before I stepped out onto the snow covered sidewalk and then slipped into the backseat of the car.

I spent the next ten minutes peppering my brother and father with questions about where we were going, but they were insistent on not telling me anything. My father claimed it was in my best interest if I simply sat down and shut up, but sadly for him, because of all the alcohol in my system, I was unable to do either. It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot at Mass General that I started to get nervous.

"What the fuck is going on?" I pleaded with them as Emmett pulled the car to a stop and I began to get out of the car, but he locked the doors. "Seriously, who the fuck is in the hospital? Did the reception get out of hand and a riot break out?" I thought I was cracking a joke, but no one else thought it was funny.

"It's Bella," said my father as I immediately began to tug on the locks of the door, trying my best to get out. I was tempted to just kick the window out, but Emmett finally relented and unlocked the doors. When I got out of the car, I was greeted by a somber looking Jasper.

"What happened? Where is she? Is she okay?" I begged as Emmett and Carlisle moved around the car to stand with me and Jazz. "Is it the baby?"

"After you left her at the hotel, she had wasn't feeling good and we rushed her here," explained my dad as my eyes were stinging with tears. I then looked at my dad and brothers, who looked even worse than me, because they knew the entire story and I was still in the dark. My father continued to talk as he explained what he knew about everything. "Her blood pressure was elevated and she began to have some contractions."

"How the fuck could she have contractions? She's only 32 weeks along," I asked, even though no one standing before me in the snow laden night was a doctor. They couldn't answer my question. "Where is she?"

"Well, when her blood pressure started to get really dangerous for both her and the baby, they decided it was time for the Peanut to come and she is now in surgery," explained Jasper coolly as he tried to grasp my shoulder to support me.

I ran as fast as my feet could take me towards the doors of the hospital, my dress shoes slipping on the slick snow as I finally made my way into the emergency room. Alice was standing not too far from the door and she was crying profusely as I ran up to her and she wrapped her arms tightly around me. "Where is she? I need to go to her. Alice… tell me where the fuck she is?"

"Are you Mr. Cullen?" a soft voice behind me said and I turned to come face to face with a nurse. "I'm Tracy, her nurse."

"Yes. Where's my wife? How is she? Did she have the baby yet?" I was practically shouting at her, but I couldn't help it. It seemed like I had ten million questions and no answers. My son could have already been born and I might have missed it.

"She's about to go in for surgery with Dr. Merritt. He is one of the best surgeons on staff," she stated quietly before she reached out her hand to me. "She asked me to give these to you for safe keeping." Tracy stretched open her hands and there sat Bella's wedding and engagement rings in her palm. I grabbed them quickly and stared at them for what seemed like ages. "Her hands were swelling because of the pre-eclampsia and we had to take them off of her for health reasons."

"Can I see her? I'm supposed to be with her when she has the baby. I have to be with her," I begged, the words coming out of my mouth faster than my mind could process them. "We're not ready for this. We don't even have any damned diapers," I shouted loudly as Alice let out a small laugh and I turned to look at her with anger in my eyes.

"Don't be mad, Bella was saying the same thing a few hours ago. She even sent Rose to Walgreens to get some diapers, wipes and a onesie with the Boston Red Sox on it. It was all she could find."

"Mr. Cullen, I'm going to go check on the status of the surgery, you may be able to make it in time for the delivery. Can you please go sit in the waiting room for a few minutes? I'll be right back," explained Tracy as I nodded my head and hugged my sister. When I turned back around, I could see my entire family standing there, looking at me with hope in their eyes. I walked forward and tightly hugged my mom.

"Is she okay?" I whispered to her quietly as I felt her nod her head.

"She was asking for you constantly and didn't want to have to go in for surgery, but they had to Edward. It wasn't safe for the baby or Bella," she explained to me as the tears began to flow again from my eyes.

"Thanks for being here and taking care of her when I was being a complete ass," I finished, as I kissed my mother's temple and sat down on the nearest chair, and buried my face in my hands, letting the tears pour from my eyes. I heard feet shuffle around me and hands touch me, trying to console me, but I just let the sobs wrack my body. I couldn't begin to fathom the fact that the love of my life was potentially having our son and I was sitting here, helpless.

I was fighting a battle with my mind because of how I had reacted at the wedding reception earlier. Bella had been right to freak out because the photo was very incriminating, but I should have done everything I could have to make her understand. I should have had Emmett explain to me what the hell had gone on and we should have talked about it like rational adults. Why the fuck was I being an idiot. I should have never left or turned my cell phone off. Fuck, they could have been calling me for hours to find me and let me know about her.

I felt a body sit beside me and when I looked over, I came face to face with the remorseful mug of my older brother. "This is all my fault," he said stoically as I narrowed my eyes.

"You were drunk and practically passed out and we thought it would be funny to take that photo," Emmett said sadly as my hands clenched into fists and I withheld the urge to beat the snot out of him in the hospital. Although, if I did attempt to kill him, he was in a safe location. "Tyler and Chris took the photo and when I remembered it was on the phone I tried to delete it, I promise."

"Oh well, I am glad it was intended to be a joke," I seethed sarcastically as Emmett looked at me dejectedly. "Don't sit here and try to fucking apologize. Because of your childish fucking antics my wife is giving birth two months early and who knows what the fuck will happen when he's born. Do you honestly think I will be able to be anywhere near you if something happens to either one of them?" I yelled as I stood from my seat and began pacing nervously around the room, the eyes of everyone from my family on me.

"Edward I didn't think this was going to happen," stated Emmett as I moved closer to towards him, my face right in front of his.

"That's right, you didn't fucking think," I yelled, as Carlisle came over and gripped my shoulder, pulling me away from Emmett.

"Edward, please relax. You are making a scene and you need to be strong for Bella and the baby," he said calmly as I pulled myself away from him and began pacing around the room again.

I began to worry about Bella yet again and everything she had gone through while I had been drinking like a fish at a seedy bar. Had she been angry at me while I wasn't with her? Had she cried and become nervous about everything or was she strong, like she usually was. Fuck. My being gone was probably what made her blood pressure rise and I was most likely the reason she was lying in that room to begin with. I recalled my mother's words that Bella was asking for me and I headed over to the nurses' station where Tracy was now standing.

"Are you ready Mr. Cullen?" she stated as she looked at me with hope in her eyes. "We've got a pair of scrubs set aside for you and they are almost ready to start."

"Let's go," I stated firmly as I gave both of my parents a quick hug and followed Tracy down the hall. She showed me a room to get changed in and I slipped the scrubs on over my tuxedo, practically bouncing with excitement at that fact that I was going to see Bella and the Peanut very soon.

When we arrived at the operating room, Tracy asked me to stand outside and wait for a moment. "I can't go in?"

"It will just take one minute Mr. Cullen," she said sweetly and I took a seat on a chair outside the room, my feet dancing lightly on the floor in nervous anticipation. When Tracy came back out of the room, she was smiling from ear to ear.

"Your wife wants to see you now. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be."

**A/N: I know… you hate me still. Perhaps more reviews will make me update sooner? I'm hoping to update The Resolution soon, followed by another AB. I promise the next one will only be partially depressing.**


	33. The OR to a Rocking Chair

**A/N: I'm back, again! I know, I said this chapter would only be a little depressing, but I was wrong. I made my beta cry both times she read it, so be forewarned.**

**Huge shout out to MaggieMay14, my super beta, and addictedtotwilight79, who helped me with all the baby stuff. If anything isn't exactly perfect in relation to the NICU and whatnot, just remember this is fiction and having not gone through this myself, there's only so much I can understand.**

**Okay, less talkie, more reading. I don't own Twilight, I do have a child who refused to go trick or treating and cried at almost every person who came to our door for candy though.**

**EPOV**

When I stepped into the room, the white of the lights completely assaulted my eyes. It didn't help that I had just spent the past few hours in a dark bar with a scary looking guy, who had given me the greatest gift ever.

"Hey, you look familiar," said Bella groggily as I grabbed the small chair situated beside her and sat down, as instructed by Tracy. I took her cool hand in mine and began tracing small circles on the back of her hand, trying to soothe her. "Where were you?"

"I was drinking," I admitted, my voice full of remorse. "I'm sorry I left. I shouldn't have stepped away from your side all night," I said as I bent my head forward, trying to hide the tears from her. The moment I saw her lying helpless on the bed, all the sheets and doctors around her, I knew I wouldn't be able to reign in my emotions. I was a complete idiot for leaving her at the reception, but I was even stupider for accusing her of not trusting me. She had seen the photo and it was more than incriminating. However, I couldn't sit here and stew about how stupid my brother had been. I needed to be there for her.

"I'm not upset with you anymore Edward," said Bella, as her eyes fluttered closed and I looked to Tracy, who assured me that things were alright. It was clear that she could see the panic written all over my face. Tracy then began to explain to us what was about to happen and I tried not to watch what was ocurring a few feet from me, but could hear the doctors talking amongst themselves, every word going over my head.

"I love you," I said as I leaned forward and kissed her temple softly, her perfect Bella smell assaulting my senses. "Can you believe we're going to have a Christmas Day baby?"

"I can't actually believe its Christmas Day. Our presents are at the hotel," she said, as though she thought it mattered to me what the fuck happened to our Christmas presents. "Did someone get diapers?"

"Yes, Rosalie went and got some preemie diapers," I said with a small laugh, my eyes still filled with tears. I tried to remain calm as best as I could because I didn't want Bella to see me waver, but I was nervous. I honestly felt like I was going to puke at any moment. Each second seemed to drag on longer than the last and as I tried to stay focused for Bella's sake, I couldn't help the anxiety that crept up in me.

When Tracy bolted from my side and I heard a small grunting noise, I immediately became concerned. I looked away from Bella and towards the doctors who were holding him; my son. Something was wrong.

_Don't talk, don't say a thing  
Cause your eyes they tell me more than your words  
Don't go, don't leave me now  
Cause they say the best way out is through_

"What's going on Tracy?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly, as I fought against my desire to leave Bella's side and find out what was going on. Unfortunately, Tracy didn't say anything to me. Instead, she stepped from the room with one of the other nurses, taking my now swaddled son with them in a small bassinet, his small grunts and groans echoing in my mind. "Where the fuck is he going?" I called out again to no one in particular, but I was greeted with the same response.

_Her bag is now much heavier  
I wish that I could carry her  
But this is our ungodly hour_

"What's wrong?" asked Bella as I smoothed her hair down, where the sweat had formed at her brow. Her eyes looked just as panicked as I felt, but I had to soothe her. I couldn't let her freak out and have something else happen that would make her worse. She needed to be sewn back up and rested so that she could help take care of our son.

"He's fine Bella. I'm sure they are just taking Hayden to be weighed and measured," I said calmly as her eyes lit up.

"He's here?" she asked as I nodded my head. I watched as her lips silently spoke the name we had picked out for our son, Hayden Alexander Cullen. It was the perfect combination of our loves of music and art. We had a few other names tossing around, but when he was born, the name Hayden just seemed right.

A few moments later, my heart still beating from my chest, the doctors finished up with Bella and I began to get more concerned because Hayden hadn't come back into the room yet. Shouldn't he have been laid with Bella? Why didn't I even get to see my son? Shouldn't we have heard him cry when he was born? My gut lurched as all these realizations hit me, but I had to be strong for my wife.

Just then, Tracy walked back in, looking a little sick to her stomach. "Where is he?" I asked tentatively as Bella gripped my hand firmly. She looked ten times more anxious than I did, but I ran my hand down the side of her face, trying to reassure her that things were going to be alright.

"Let's get Bella settled in her recovery room and then we can talk," she said stoically and I reluctantly nodded my head. The orderlies took Bella into her room and once everything was setup twenty minutes later and Bella was resting somewhat comfortably, Tracy began to speak. "Your son has had a little trouble breathing on his own, which is common with babies born so early. His lungs are underdeveloped, so we have given him a dose of pulmonary surfactant, because he has Infant respiratory distress syndrome."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked coolly. I could see Bella was starting to cry on the bed, so I sat down on the edge, wrapping my arm around her shoulder tightly as I kissed her temple. "Hayden will be fine baby."

"It means that your son will have to stay in the Neo-Natal Unit for a little while, most likely a week or two at the best, but possibly longer. The surfactant will help his lungs to develop faster and it is basically a synthetic form of the liquid he had in his lungs when he was inside the womb."

"When can we see him?"

"You need to stay in bed and rest, but I'm going to have one of the orderlies wheel you down to the NICU very shortly. It's great for the recovery of both mother and baby if they get to spend some time together," said Tracy as Bella started to cry again. "If Edward has a digital camera, he can take a picture of Hayden for you. The most important thing for you Bella is that you take it easy and get better so Hayden has his Mommy."

I thought for a moment about who would have a camera, and remembered that Jasper had one at the wedding and Tracy volunteered to go see him and ask. It felt surreal that we finally had our son and we couldn't see him yet. My entire body ached with need to see him; I needed to know he was alright. I needed to count his ten little fingers and ten little toes and see if he had any hair. Would it be brown like Bella or auburn like mine?

Tracy came back into the room a moment later advising that Jasper was going to give my parents the camera, since they were sticking around for a while. "Oh and by the way, Hayden weighed in at 4 pounds 4 ounces. Not the smallest preemie we've ever seen. He's a strong little guy and I think you guys will be out of here before you know it. We're going to have his little incubator all set up for him immediately. Did you want us to put on his full name?" Tracy asked as my parents walked in.

"Yes please, Hayden Alexander Cullen," stated Bella firmly as a yawn slipped from her lips immediately after. Tracy came over and wrapped a small plastic bracelet around Bella's arm and then offered me one as well. "Hayden has a matching bracelet, so we know who he belongs to," said Tracy as she smiled sweetly at us and stepped from the room, and my father held out Jasper's camera to me.

"We sent Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie back to the hotel. Jazz and Ali are going to go pick up your parents at Logan in a few hours Bella," stated Esme as she hugged Bella tightly. I could see the anxious looks I was getting from my parents, so I asked them to wait in the hallway for a moment as I took a second with my wife. They quickly agreed and stepped outside, closing the door behind them.

"I need to go see him Edward," pleaded Bella, the tears pouring down her face as I reached up and tried to wipe them away. "He needs me."

"I know he needs you honey, but you need to rest. You'll be no good to him if they have to re-stitch you up in a few hours. I'm sure it won't be too long before the orderlies get here to wheel you down to visit him," I said genuinely as I sweetly kissed away the remaining tears that were on her face before kissing her lips gently.

"I love you so much," she said as she buried her head onto my shoulder, the sobs wracking through her entire body, causing her to shake slightly against me. I tightened my grip around her body and tried to ease her concerns, but I was really just lying to her because I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know when, or if, we would get to take Hayden home with us.

When we finally made our way into the NICU a little less than ten minutes later, Bella was fighting back tears the entire time. She was still lying in her recovery bed and the orderlies pushed her through the door and placed her bed beside the incubator so that she could see Hayden, but the sight before us was heartbreaking.

I was ushered into a small room and forced to clean my hands thoroughly, in case I wanted to touch him. I was nervous though and when we walked in and I finally got a glimpse of my son, I had to sit in the first chair I could find. He was beautiful and seeing him with all the tubes in him, tugged at my soul.

Hayden had a small mass of red hair that was sticking out from under the blue and white knit cap he was wearing, and tiny arms and legs. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping, but I couldn't help but notice the discoloration in his skin. "Why is he a little yellow?" I asked Tracy, who had been talking with one of the other nurses and came over to join us.

"Hayden has jaundice, but it's not a severe case. It should probably pass in the next few days, and it's typical with preemies," she said as she slipped a knit blanket into the incubator with him. I couldn't help but notice the little name tag with Hayden's name on it, smiling as I saw that it was decorated with a few Christmas pictures like a tree, a present and some holly & ivy.

Bella didn't say much while we were in the room, simply choosing to lay her hand on the side of the incubator and mumble sadly about how much she loved him. We both said a quick goodbye and said how much we loved him and before we knew it, we were taken back to Bella's room, where she quickly fell asleep, which was a side effect of the drugs she had been given for her recovery.

I was pacing the room nervously a little while later when Tracy walked in and suggested I go spend a few moments with Hayden instead. "Babies tend to be great stress relievers," she said with a small laugh as I kissed Bella's forehead and strolled down the hallway to the NICU, passing my parents in the waiting room.

I took a few minutes to explain to them what was going on, both of them getting teary eyed and they both wanted to come with me to see Hayden, which was fine with me. Lord knows, I would probably need the support. I walked with my parents down the hallway and through a couple of sets of double doors, my hands shaking the entire way. I ended up shoving my hands into my pocket to hide my nerves and let my fingers fidget around the digital camera, hoping to take a few more pictures of Hayden while I was there.

"You guys wait here for a moment," said Tracy as she headed through some doors and my parents and I watched from the other side of the glass window. There were 3 incubators set up and it broke my heart that Hayden was in one of them. I leaned up against the glass and watched as Tracy moved towards one of the incubators and looked through it, checking him out and checking out his vitals. It was only a minute later when she motioned with her hands that we could come in the room.

Before we passed through the second door, Tracy had Esme, Carlisle and I put on some shifty paper gowns and step into a small room where we scrubbed and washed our hands for what seemed like an eternity. When I was ready, I practically bounced back over to Hayden and tentatively reached my hands in the incubator. I immediately reached up and stroked his foot gently. "Hey there little guy," I said with a tiny smile. "You are looking so strong. You look just like your mom ya know… well except the hair. You definitely got that from me," I said quietly as I felt my dad rest his hand on my shoulder as he looked down at my son.

"He's perfect," said my dad as I pulled my hands out for a moment and hugged my dad, as tears poured down my face.

"Then why does it feel like I am being punished? Did I do something wrong and now the fates are penalizing me? Why him… what the hell did he ever do?" I cried as I buried my head on his shoulder and I felt his strong arms wrap around me, followed by my mother's. I couldn't actually recall the last time my parents had hugged me like this, if ever.

"This is just life Edward. You have to take the good with the bad, but have faith. I trust that your son will be perfectly fine," Esme reassured me as we both turned back to the incubator and looked down at Hayden. "His name is a little unorthodox you know?"

"Bella was really digging Eugene at one point, so thank your lucky stars I talked her out of it," I said with a small laugh as I put my hands back into the incubator and began to stroke his little arms and hands. His breathing seemed to be getting stronger as my parents and I continued to talk. "He looks like a Hayden though. We chose Hayden Alexander to join our loves of music and art. So be thankful we don't love South Park and Friends or you could be looking at Cartman Chanandler Bong Cullen."

Carlisle and Esme both let out a low laugh and we spent the next twenty minutes sitting there talking to Hayden and telling him all about his family, although I couldn't help but notice that we all left Emmett out of the mix. I was having a rough time of coming to terms with what Emmett had done and was relieved when my mother told me earlier that he and Rosalie had gone home for the night. I really didn't know what the hell I would do if I saw him anytime soon.

When we finally stepped out of the nursery, my heart broke at having to leave Hayden behind. We walked slowly down the hallway and as we got back to our room, my father pulled me aside before we walked in.

"I'm gonna take your mom down for some coffee, so that you and Bella can have a bit of privacy," he said genuinely. "Do you want anything while we are gone? I can always call Jazz to bring you some clothes if you want?"

"Surprisingly, this tuxedo is very comfortable," I said with a small smile as my dad patted my shoulder and laughed. "I wouldn't mind a coffee and a muffin though. I haven't eaten anything in hours and the last thing I drank was my weight in beer."

"Consider it done," he said casually as I walked into the room I sat in the chair beside the bed, laying my head against the mattress, Bella's hands tight in mine and I fell asleep until my parents came back into the room, which was over an hour later.

When my mom walked into the room, I was surprised to feel Bella's hand stroking my hair softly. "You're both awake? Perhaps I should go get some sedatives from one of the doctors," she said with a small laugh. I sat up, my back and neck aching from the position I had been in, and when I looked into Bella's eyes, they were filled with sadness.

"Carlisle and I are going to head back to the house to get a few hours sleep. We will be back around late in the afternoon with a change of clothes for you Edward. I talked to Alice and she confirmed that your parents should be here by then Bella. Did you want anything while we're gone?" My mother looked so tired and run down, I couldn't fault her for wanting to get a little rest. I however, had no plans to leave this hospital without my son.

"Just Hayden," replied Bella as I took her hand in mine and kissed the back of it softly. My mother came over and hugged us both, followed by my father, before they left us alone, the muffin and coffee I had requested sitting on the small table at the end of Bella's bed.

I glance over at the clock and couldn't help but cringe when I noticed it was six in the morning. "You look so tired," I said honestly as I moved my hand against her cheek, just below the black circles under her eyes. "You need to get more sleep."

"So do you, did you go see him again? Where are the photos?" she inquired as I pulled out the camera and showed her the photos I had taken both times I had seen our son. I handed her the camera and watched my heart shatter into a million pieces as I saw the expression of sheer panic on her face, she was clearly worried about him and I didn't blame her at all. Hell, I was petrified.

"He's doing remarkably good," I stated as she used her free hand to grip me tighter. "Tracy told me that his jaundice is fading already and that he should be good in a few days."

"He looks like me, with your hair," said Bella, as though she had been reading my mind when I saw Hayden the first time. "What did you do while you were in the nursery?"

I rested my head on her lap and looked into her eyes as began to cry again. I literally had a breakdown while telling Bella about being able to touch him and how I was talking to him and trying to reassure him. I had begged him to be strong for me and Bella and ached to kiss him before I ended up leaving the nursery with my parents, hugging then again in the hallway outside the NICU nursery. Bella's hands threaded through my hair as she leaned down slightly, wincing in a bit of pain from her c-section as she kissed my temple.

"Thanks for taking care of him when I can't," she said quietly as I sat up a bit and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"I'm supposed to take care of both of you and I feel like I am failing miserably," I admitted to her as I felt her hands cup my face and hold me still. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the genuine love that was in her eyes, which made me thankful for the first time I ever saw her and the day I made her mine.

"You are everything that Hayden and I could ever ask for sweetie," she said as she kissed my lips and then leaned her head back against the pillows. "I need to go to him Edward."

"Bella, you need to heal and rest. You won't be any good to him if you don't sleep," I explained, hoping she would see the truth in my words.

"I don't care. I need to go see him Edward. Isn't there anything we can do?" she pleaded as I shook my head slowly.

"How about this, we both rest as much as we can right now and I will beg the nurses to let you see Hayden soon okay?" I offered genuinely, even though I knew it was a futile. Tracy had already let me know that Bella would be in bed for at least two or three days, depending on how quickly she healed, before she could see him.

"Okay baby. Let's rest now," Bella finished as she patted the bed beside her. I looked at her with a quirked eye brow and she patted it again, clearly not taking no for an answer. There wasn't a lot of space, but I didn't give a shit. I crawled in beside her, lay on my side and slept beside my beautiful wife, holding her hand the entire time.

**BPOV**

The next day was painful at best. I was confined to the bed trying to recover from the surgery and was having a difficult time not being able to move or do anything on my own. If I thought being catered to while I was pregnant was hard, it was even worse now that Hayden had come into the world. Of course, it was made a million times worse the moment my mother walked in the door of my hospital room during the middle of Christmas Day.

_Renee came in like a tornado of emotions and hugged me immediately, then she tried to reassure me that everything would be just fine before bursting into tears herself. I seriously considered making Edward slap some sense into her or ask the doctors to medicate her, until Edward pulled her into the hallway and talked to her. Thankfully, my dad was the voice of reason, as per usual._

"_How you doing kiddo?" he had asked sweetly, as I could vaguely hear my mother and Edward discussing Hayden's condition outside of my room. Charlie's hand went up to my shoulder and he swept my hair behind my ear and I reveled in having the comfort my father afforded me._

"_I'm hanging in there. Have you gone to see your grandson yet?" I asked curiously, as he shook his head in the negative, which surprised me considering how excited he was to become a grandpa._

"_Your mom and I wanted to come see you first Bells," he said stoically as he then leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "As much as we are excited about the fact that we are now grandparents, even though I still think I am too young and handsome to be one, we wanted to make sure you were alright first. Now that you are a parent, you know your child will always come first."_

"_I feel so useless though Dad. I'm confined to this damn bed all day. I've only seen him once, with the exception of the photos and I feel so helpless. If my child is supposed to come first, why the hell do I have to come first? I should be with him," I said, feeling pathetic with myself for my outburst. Charlie began rubbing my hand genuinely to try and ease my fears._

"_You may not feel like it Bella, but you are choosing to be there for your child. By taking care of yourself, you are doing everything you can for Hayden. As you get stronger, so will he. So please don't feel useless sweetie, you are doing everything you can."_

"_Thanks dad," I said genuinely as tears began to fall and my dad brushed them away with his rough hands, which comforted me more than any words ever could. I was just about to speak again when my mother, husband and Nurse Natalie walked into the room. Natalie had taken over from Tracy, who left for the day a couple of hours ago. She began looking at my chart and even felt my side where the stitches laid, slowly getting better. "Natalie, this is my mother Renee and my father Charlie."_

_Natalie said some casual hellos to my parents before turning to Edward, who was now standing beside me, holding my hand tightly. He hadn't gotten much sleep in the past two days, but he didn't care. When Edward wasn't by my side, he was with Hayden or running to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Jasper had brought him a change of clothes when he brought my parents in from the airport, but he had yet to change into them, still choosing to wear his tuxedo from the wedding._

_Natalie told us that I was improving steadily and that with some more rest and relaxation, I should be able to see Hayden in no time, which would have been the best Christmas gift in the world._

My parents ended up staying for most of the afternoon and finally left just before dinner with Jasper and Alice, to get settled in their hotel. They spent over half an hour down at the NICU getting to spend some time with Hayden, who everyone assured me was getting stronger with each hour that passed. I hated the fact that I couldn't yet see him again, but reveled in each and every photo that Edward or Esme brought to me.

Alice was a lifesaver when she showed up the day after Christmas with my iPod, my hair brush and a few other essentials from the hotel. By this point, I had managed to force Edward into having a shower in my small bathroom and finally changing out of his tuxedo. I felt remorseful that no one really had a Christmas because everyone, with the exception of Emmett and Rosalie, had come to the hospital. Em & Rose had decided to postpone their honeymoon though, considering the events of the past few days, but they had yet to come visit us. Not that I blamed them.

As much as I was disgusted with Emmett for what he had done, I wanted him to meet his nephew. Edward, however, was a different story. He blamed Emmett for the fact that I was lying in this bed and unable to see Hayden. He also was vehemently against his brother seeing his nephew. I knew in my heart that Edward just needed some time to cool down, but he was pretty adamant about him staying away at the time.

Just after noon on the 27th, Alice wandered into my room with Rosalie and I immediately began to look around for any signs of Emmett. In my heart, I felt like I needed to see him and hear his apology and his justification for what happened. "Hey baby momma," said Rosalie genuinely as she came towards me and offered a gentle hug, which I accepted readily. Edward was down at the NICU spending some more time with Hayden because I had been trying to take a nap, which was clearly in vain. Every time I tried to sleep, it was pointless. I managed a few hours here and there, but nothing substantial because I was hoping to hear anything about Hayden. He was more important to me than any sleep I was supposed to have.

"Hey Mrs. Cullen," I said with a small laugh as Rosalie smiled brightly at me. "How is married life treating you?" Rosalie shrugged her shoulders and suddenly seemed very stoic. I was about to ask her something else when Alice, in an effort to break the tension, tossed a t-shirt at me. "What is this?"

"It's a shirt, we all have one," laughed Alice as she held up her own before pulling it over her head. I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped my mouth as her chest was now covered in small iron on letters that said 'Hayden's Favorite Aunt'. Rosalie let out a small groan as she held up her shirt to read it.

"Hayden's Second Favorite Aunt? Are you kidding me with this shit?" Rosalie questioned, as Edward strolled into the room wearing his own t-shirt which said 'Hayden's Proud Daddy.' Edward was followed by Tracy, who had a big grin on her face as she looked at all of the shirts and then checked out my charts. "Seriously, why do you get to be his favorite Aunt? He's only a few days old; shouldn't we give him time to get to know us before you give me such a stupid title?"

"Even when he's twenty, he'll still think of me as his favorite Aunt," laughed Alice. "I am the one who made these shirts last night in my hotel room you know. Well, I suppose Jasper helped a little bit." Edward walked over and stroked my hair lightly as he kissed my temple, while we both watched the humorous exchange between Rose & Alice.

"How's our boy doing? I asked as Edward shot a surprisingly cheerful glance around the room to everyone before taking my hand in his, entwining our fingers.

"Why don't you come see for yourself?" Edward said casually as my eyes lit up with hope.

"Are you serious? Can I actually leave the bed to do something other than pee?" I said excitedly as Tracy nodded her head. I looked over at Edward, my leg now twitching with anticipation and he was nodding his head as well. "What are we waiting for?"

As Tracy stepped out of the room, Rosalie and Alice followed her, looking just as happy as I felt. Edward sat on the edge of the bed as I sat up a little more, the enthusiasm rolling off of me in waves. "I want to prepare you before we go," Edward stated as he swept a small bit of hair behind my ear and sat down beside me on the bed. I moved over slightly to give him some more room, and he got settled just as the door closed firmly behind our departing friends. "I know you've seen him once and you've looked at photos non-stop for a few days, but it's not the same Bella."

"I'm sure I can handle it Edward," I said as Edward looked at me with a quirked eye brow. "Okay, brace me for everything then. Tell me what I need to know."

"Don't be stubborn Bella. I'm just trying to make this as painless for you as possible. You've only seen him once and you were hopped up on drugs at the time. It's not going to help your recovery if you go in there thinking he's fine and then you have a breakdown." Edward reached out and stroked my cheek sweetly as I bent my face into his touch. "Hayden is really tiny and fragile looking. The doctors and nurses keep reassuring me that he is getting bigger, and he looks like he has gotten stronger, but you wouldn't be able to tell that." I nodded my head slowly, my heart sinking further into my chest as Edward continued speaking. "There are all sorts of tubes and things on him, and he looks really bad baby, but the jaundice has subsided and we're all really hopeful. You need to go in there as the strongest person you can be. Hayden needs you."

"I know. I need him too baby," I said with a sigh as Edward gently pressed his lips against mine and climbed from the bed.

"Are you ready?" I grabbed some clothes from the pile that Alice had brought me and pulled on a loose fitting pair of pajama pants, finally shedding myself of the hideous backless hospital gown I had been wearing for almost two days. I then pulled on my 'Hayden's Proud Mommy' t-shirt and took Edward's hand tightly in mine. When we opened the door, Tracy was waiting there with a wheelchair, which made me a bit incredulous.

"If you want to go see him, get in the chair Bella," she chastised me as I looked back at Edward, who looked supportive, so I reluctantly sat down and let him wheel me down the hallway. We passed some of our family who were sitting in the lounge, everyone wearing a different shirt in support of Hayden. I had to laugh because Charlie's said 'Hayden's Proud Grand Pappy' and Carlisle's read 'Hayden's Nervous Grandfather.' It was funny how perfectly Alice was able to make the shirts for my parents when she had only met them a few times before.

As we made our way down the hallway, I got more and more anxious with every second. When we first walked into the NICU, I went through the motions of washing my hands and getting sterile, but I didn't really notice anything until Edward put me in front of the incubator, and my son.

He was so little and my heart broke into a million pieces the moment I saw him. My short memory of him and the photos I had been shown didn't do him justice. With his small tuft of red hair and strong features, I thought he looked just like Edward.

"I was wrong. The photos make him look like me, but he now that I see him again and he is coming into his features, Hayden really looks like a really small version of you," I said genuinely, as I looked down at Hayden and felt Edward's hands on my shoulders.

"He's only got my hair really. I think his face looks like yours baby, cause he's beautiful just like his mom," said Edward sweetly as I felt him place a kiss on the back of my head. I placed my hands firm against the incubator and wished I could touch him, or hold him.

"Put your hands through there Bella and you can feel him. He always seems to respond positively to Edward's touch," said Tracy as she watched with an anxious smile as I put my hands through the small holes and reached in.

My hand hovered above Hayden, and I realized I was petrified to touch him. "He won't break Bella," I heard Edward whisper quietly at my side, as he tried to reassure me. I nodded my head and moved my finger down to Hayden's hand, which he grasped firmly with his tiny fingers, which made me gasp.

"He's strong," I said as I fought back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "He will definitely be a linebacker."

"Or a soccer player."

I spent the next twenty minutes just touching every single piece of skin on Hayden that I could, with the encouragement of Tracy and Edward. They both claimed they could see an improvement in him during the short time we were together, but I couldn't see anything. Half of the time, I could barely understand what they were saying because all I focused on was Hayden.

"I know it looks bad Bella, but Tracy, Natalie and everyone else has assured me that he is doing really well. He's been taking the bottles of breast milk that you pumped like a little trooper and he's gained a few ounces already. I'm kind of optimistic we'll be able to take him home shortly after New Years." Edward seemed excited as he spoke; my finger still clutched tightly in Hayden's little hand. Unfortunately for me, he noticed when I wobbled slightly and insisted on taking me back to my hospital room. I kept reminding myself that now that I was feeling a bit better, I would be back to see Hayden soon. That was what kept me going. I kissed my fingers and then pressed them against Hayden's chest, where his heart laid and said a quick goodbye.

"I love you Peanut," I uttered quietly, before we made our way out of the room, not wanting to prolong the inevitable.

It was two nights later, when Edward finally succumbed to the need for a warm bed, that I found myself staring at the television aimlessly. Esme & Carlisle literally had to drag him back to their house for the night. Jasper & Alice had checked us out of our hotel room on the 27th, so all of our stuff was either in the hospital room or back at the Cullen's house. Edward hadn't wanted to go, but I convinced him that we needed him as strong as possible. Alice had graciously called both of our employers and let them know that we had Hayden and we were still in Boston. Thankfully, we had two very considerate employers who were more than happy to start our leave early.

I was sitting up, flipping through an old issue of People Magazine, with CNN running in the background, when Tracy showed up. "You're here again?" I said with a short laugh as she nodded her head cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm glutton for punishment ya know, or I need the money, either one works," she joked as she checked out my chart and smiled happily. "You do realize you'll be able to get out here soon right?"

"So, Hayden and I are going to leave soon?" I asked enthusiastically. I was beyond excited to get home to New York and back to our lives. I wanted to show Hayden his nursery that was finally finished in the train theme, complete with a moving train suspended from the ceiling, courtesy of Jasper and Alice. I wanted to rock him to sleep in the chair Edward and I had gotten and sing to him to soothe him.

"Hayden isn't quite ready to leave yet, but according to Natalie, who just left for the night, he's apparently up for a visitor." My eyes lit up as Tracy extended her hand to me and I took it greedily, standing up out of my bed. We walked down the quiet hallway, no noise in the background except the small TV at the nurses' station, which was playing a repeat of Gilmore Girls. "Get washed up like usual and then go sit in the rocking chair."

I nodded my head cheerfully and did everything she asked, sitting down and waiting expectantly. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, but when Tracy came back in a few minutes later, she lifted Hayden from the bassinet and swaddled him tightly in a receiving blanket. My breath hitched as she moved closer to me and stretched her arms. I could feel the tears begin to fall as I finally got to hold my son for the first time.

I was nervous and remorseful all at once. I wanted Edward to be there with me and experience this, but I couldn't pass up the chance to hold him, even if it was just for a few minutes. I rocked slowly in the chair, his head resting firmly on my arm as I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his tiny nose, which still had his tiny breathing tube inserted.

"Bella, we were hoping you would want to try breast feeding him," said Tracy as I looked up at her and used one arm to swipe the tears from my eyes.

"I would love nothing more," I admitted joyously as Tracy then began to explain to me what I needed to do. She carefully explained every step and helped Hayden latch on, which took a few minutes of trying, but the moment I heard him sucking and felt the slight twinge of pain, I was relieved. Tracy offered us some privacy and I leaned my head back in the chair as she walked out of the room.

I stroked the top of Hayden's head which was covered in a small cotton hat to keep his head warm and I found myself singing to him one of my favorite songs, Godspeed by the Dixie Chicks.

_Dragon tales and the "water is wide"  
Pirate's sail and lost boys fly  
Fish bite moonbeams every night  
And I love you_

Godspeed, little man  
Sweet dreams, little man  
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings  
Godspeed  
Sweet dreams

**A/N: Next chapter will bring back the happy times, I promise.**

**Don't forget that I put myself up for auction in the Fandom Gives Back Author auction, which begins on November 15****th****. The Esme Erotic Ecstasy contest ended last night and voting will be up later today, after I finish breakfast!**

**Now go hit that review button and maybe I will post Chapter 34 really soon.**


	34. Rocking Chair to Our Home

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out guys. Life has been hectic to say the least, not that you guys care. LOL. No sob stories here. Did you guys check out PIC's Fan Fic blog this week? (link on my profile page) It was flightlessbird11 and coldplaywhore week, so not only were there teasers for ALL of our active stories, there was also an interview, character discussions and some smutty pics that were very reminiscent of our stories. So go check it out. It's ok, I'll wait.**

**Anywhoo, don't forget the Fandom Gives Back Author Auction which starts on the 15****th****. I'm going on a first come first serve basis to the first three people who want me. Three one shots, either from my existing stories or something you want me to write. I'm all over it.**

**If you didn't hear the good news already, me and my girl Risbee entered the NaughtyHeels Anonymous One Shot Contest and won 2****nd**** place, behind the fabulous ninapolitan. London Calling, our one shot, is in the process of being expanded into a full length multiple chapter story and we will be going back to before graduation, exploring their time apart and segueing them into college. So, make sure you have either me or Risbee, preferably both, on author alert.**

**Is that it? Yup, I think that's it. I have some fuck hot recs at the bottom of the story though, so go read.**

**I don't own Twilight. My hubs now owns an xbox360, so this means I should be able to write more and entertain him less!**

**EPOV**

We were in Boston for New Years Eve and it was the last place I wanted to be. Unfortunately, my desire to be home in New York City with my wife and newborn son, didn't take precedence over their health. Even though Hayden was improving vastly every day and was getting stronger, he wasn't quiet ready to be released. Bella and I were on pins and needles, waiting for the moment that the doctor said that he was good to go home.

Bella was discharged from the hospital on the 30th, after spending five days recovering, but she didn't want to leave Hayden's side. The nurses had been encouraging her to breastfeed Hayden and spend as much time with him as possible now that she was feeling better, but we still had to leave every night in order to manage some sleep, and that meant going back to my parents' house and to my childhood bedroom.

Last night when we had climbed into bed, Bella rested her head against my chest and curled into my side. She was quiet, but I could tell she was crying, so I did my best to soothe her by stroking her hair gently. "How am I going to sleep?" she asked through her tears, as I used the pad of my thumb to push them away gently. "I'm so worried about him. What if he needs me during the night?"

"You pumped enough breast milk, that he will be fine until we get back there in the morning. Tracy is on shift tonight, and you know she will be awesome with Hayden, so try not to worry baby," I replied as I pulled Bella towards me, trying to be cognisant of her still tender abdomen.

"It's just… he's so little and so far away from us. If something does happen, it will take us at least half an hour to get there. A lot can happen in thirty minutes Edward," Bella said, the concern rising up in her voice as she grasped at my hand and I tightened my grip around her to keep her calm.

"He has been fine for the past five days, Bella. He's strong, the jaundice is gone and pretty soon he'll be eating like Emmett," I said with a slight frown, remembering the situation that was currently going on with my brother. Even though we had seen Rosalie every single day since Hayden was born, no one ever mentioned Emmett to me or Bella. I did, however, overhear my parents engaged in a conversation with Rosalie about it in the waiting room.

"_When I left him this morning Esme, he was simply heartbroken," said Rosalie sadly, as she wiped a tear from her cheek and my mother pulled her into a gentle hug. "All he wants is the chance to explain himself and apologize, but he's at least smart enough to realize now is not the time."_

"_You know Rosalie; I thought I raised Emmett and Edward as best as I could. I know that Carlisle and I weren't always there, but we tried. Edward won't let this rift last forever," explained my mother as she rubbed Rosalie's arm, trying to soothe her._

"_When I showed him the photos that I had taken of Hayden yesterday, he teared up. He honestly thinks he will never meet his nephew." My heart clenched a little bit from Rosalie's words. I knew that this thing, whatever it was, between Emmett and I wouldn't last forever, but I also knew I couldn't just forgive him overnight. He had played a major role in the fact that my son was in an incubator and was born a month and a half early. I knew he wasn't the only one to blame though. Had I not ditched my pregnant wife and headed off into the night to get drunk, things might not have gotten as bad as they did._

"_You need to let Emmett know not to worry so much," said Carlisle, his voice sounding cool and calm. "Edward will come around. Once Hayden is feeling better and breathing on his own, I bet he will be able to have a civil conversation with Emmett. Just tell Emmett to have some patience. Edward won't let this go on too long."_

_I turned on my heels, heading down towards the cafeteria, where I spent the next half an hour fiddling with a stir stick from my coffee as I wondered what to do about Emmett. I had been avoiding the inevitable and if I kept it up, I'd lose my brother for good, which was something I didn't want to happen, no matter how mad as I was. Just because I loved him, didn't mean I had to like him._

"Speaking of Emmett," I said cautiously, unsure of how Bella would be able to handle a conversation about him. Instead of asking me not to talk about him, she just quirked her eye brow at me, waiting for me to continue talking. "I think I will try to talk to him in a few days. I want to get through New Years and then I will try to find out what the hell, if anything, was going through his head."

"Rosalie told me how rough he was doing," said Bella as I looked at her with wide eyes. "I know you are still angry about it Edward and right now, with everything else going on in our lives, I didn't want to mention it to you." I ran my hand along her back and noticed that she had stopped crying and her breathing was evening out. "I think this has gone on long enough. Even though Emmett was an idiot, you know deep down in his heart that he didn't mean for any of this to happen. I want him to meet Hayden."

"I promise I will talk to him sometime after tomorrow. Its New Years Eve tomorrow and I just want to spend it with my wife and son. Even if we are stuck in the hospital," I said genuinely as Bella nodded against my chest and I heard her let out a small sigh. "Go to sleep honey," I whispered quietly and within moments, Bella was passed out. Unfortunately for me, I didn't sleep at all that night, every few hours Bella would wake up and pump her breast milk for Hayden and I would help her as much as I could before we crawled back into bed. The exhaustion was there, but when I closed my eyes, all I could think about was what the hell I would say to Emmett.

New Years Eve passed uneventfully for all of us. Everyone came to the hospital to visit Hayden, including Bella's parents who were now staying at my parents' house. Rosalie called and politely told us she couldn't make it, because she didn't want to leave Emmett's side and I had to admit I understood. Then I asked her to make Emmett go to my parents the next day to watch football. He was always partial to watching the bowl games on the big screen in the basement, and I wanted to take the time to get him alone and talk to him.

Bella and I took a little bit more time with Hayden that night, and were thankful when Tracy came on duty and gave us some extra time with him. Bella was allowed to breastfeed him more often, and Tracy thought that their skin to skin contact and his insatiable appetite were really affecting Hayden positively. He was nearing 5 lbs, when we left the hospital just after 8, to go back to my parents' house to go to sleep. When we got there, Bella and I were both surprised to see that our mothers had left us dinner, with candlelight in the dining room; they were nowhere to be found in the house though. We enjoyed our chicken cordon blue, veggies and caeser salad, chatting simply about things we still needed to get done before Hayden came out of the hospital.

"How are we going to get him home without a car seat in the car?" asked Bella as I scratched my head slowly. I hadn't thought about that. Hell, all of our stuff for him was still in New York, so we were kinda screwed. "I was thinking of asking my dad and your dad to drive down to our place and get a bunch of stuff, but they would have no idea where to find it."

"Why don't we see if Alice will go?" I questioned while Bella shook her head.

"No can do. She's heading back to NYC on the 2nd because Jasper needs to go back for work. He took off the entire holidays and his bosses were apparently pissed," she sighed. "I think Rosalie and Em will be going back on the 2nd too, taking Jasper and Alice with them, since they drove up to Boston with us."

"I completely forgot about that. I guess with everything going on I didn't remember that Jazz and Ali came with us. Couldn't Alice just go to the house with our dads and she can show them where the stuff is?" I questioned again as I took a sip of my Coke. Bella nodded her head and then shoved her plate forward.

"Since our parents did all this, we don't have to clean up do we?" asked my wife as I laughed as I shook my head slowly in the negative.

"Nope, we're not touching it. We're going to head upstairs, I'm going to draw you a bath and then I am going to call Tracy and check in on Hayden. When we are all done… we're going to sleep. That sounds like a perfect New Years Eve to me."

"Agreed," said Bella genuinely as I pushed away from the table and stood up, taking her tender hand in mine. I pulled us up the stairs and we settled in my room, doing everything I had set forth before we ended up passing out in each others' arms, desperate to start the next year.

On New Year's Day, Bella went to the hospital with Alice and Jasper, while I stayed behind to talk to Emmett. I was a little anxious because I wasn't getting up and going to see Hayden right away like I had every other morning, but I had to face my brother and get through this. Neither one of us would be satisfied if we didn't.

When I eventually made my way into the basement, Emmett was perched on the couch with Rosalie at his side. She heard me coming down the stairs long before he did, and stood up to give us some privacy.

"Where do you think you are going Wifey?" chuckled Emmett quietly as Rosalie moved behind the couch and I stood beside her.

"I have to go see my nephew and you need to talk to your brother," she said as she patted me on the shoulder and Emmett whipped his head around and noticed me standing there. He looked a little flustered and I noticed him fidget with his fingers, unsure of what to do. We both watched as Rosalie ascended the stairs to the main floor and I walked around the couch and sat down beside my brother.

"Who's playing?"

"No one good," he said stoically as he looked me with one eye brow raised. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come see my brother and find out why the fuck he is a major idiot?" I asked, trying to put some humor into a situation where there clearly shouldn't be any. I couldn't help it though. My relationship with my brother, though volatile as of late, was always a close one. Lately, I wished we could go back a year or two, to when life was easier; before we started getting engaged, graduating, married and having kids. "Just tell me what the hell you were thinking so we can move on."

"Dude, I wish I had a good explanation, but whatever I say, while it will be the truth, will just make me sound like the world's biggest asshole," said Emmett with a loud sigh. "I can't rationalize my actions man. I've tried ever since the little slugger was born, and all I can think is that I was drunk as hell and I was stupid."

"Emmett…" I began to say before he interrupted me.

"I know, I'm a raving fucking idiot and you and Bella hate me because I caused the little guy to come early and now he's stuck at the hospital," Emmett buried his head and his hands and for the first time in my life, I saw my older brother cry. My unbreakable and completely infallible brother broke down and the only thing that seemed to calm him seemed foreign to me, but I hugged him anyways.

"We don't hate you Emmett. We just want an explanation," I said as I pulled back and looked at Emmett in the eyes.

"That's just it Edward, I was drunk off my fucking rocker. The guys from work thought it would be funny and next thing I know, I am trying to delete the photo and I accidently sent it to my wife during the wedding reception. Talk about epic fuck ups, I'm right up there along with the George W. Bush being voted into office a second time," he said with a small laugh as I patted him on the back.

"We weren't old enough to vote then man. I'm still shocked mom and dadoioioli are Republicans after that fucking debacle. How the hell did they raise a houseful of Democrats?"

"They weren't here until we were old enough to know better," laughed Emmett, harder this time and I had to admit, it was nice to share a good moment with my brother. "Okay, in all seriousness, I'm sorry for being a complete and utter idiot."

"You're forgiven."

"Just like that?" asked Emmett incredulously as I nodded my head slowly and glanced at the TV. I hadn't watched anything of consequence in the past week and a half, so it was kinda nice to sit back and relax, even though my mind was still focused on Hayden.

"Yeah, just like that. Bella and I honestly couldn't hate you for what happened. It wasn't just your fault. Sure, you sent the photo, but you weren't the reason she got pre-eclampsia and you weren't the reason I stormed off. Bella and I don't blame you. It was just a serious of unfortunate events," I said genuinely as Emmett smiled widely.

"You mean like that Lemony Snicket guy?"

"Yeah, like that dipshit," I said as I punched him in the shoulder, hurting me more than him. "Now, as much fun as this is, Alice has a t-shirt at the hospital with your name on it. Wanna go meet your nephew?"

"Fuck yes!"

"Dude, you will need to stop with the swearing around him," I chastised him as he looked at me with a grin.

"He doesn't even know he has ears, give me a little time to ween off the cursing." I nodded with a smile and we both jumped off the couch, practically running up the stairs and to the Volvo, to go see my son.

When we walked in the doors of the hospital, Alice was sitting in the waiting room with Rosalie, both of them looking impatient. Alice threw Emmett his shirt, and I laughed as he simply put it on, not reading that it said 'Hayden's Dumbass Uncle'. We all snickered before I looked at Alice expectantly.

"Oh, don't freak out. We were giving Bella some time with H. He was hungry and when she was holding him, he was rooting around for her boob." I gave a small smile, and was kinda proud my son was such a boob man. I left them all alone for a moment and walked down the hallway towards the NICU. Sure enough, Bella was nestled in the rocking chair, holding Hayden firmly in her arms as he suckled away happily.

I walked in, disinfected my hands and went over to join them, wrapping my arm over Bella's shoulder and kissing her temple as I looked at my 'little slugger' as Emmett had called him. "How did everything go?"

"Better than expected. He was a drunken asshole and had no logical reason for anything, but he apologized and I accepted. He's in the waiting room, desperate to meet Hayden, who Alice now calls 'H'."

"Yeah, I tried to talk her out of it, but she's a persistent little bitch. It could be worse though, they could have nicknamed him after some mythical creature like the Loch Ness Monster," laughed Bella and I had to admit; it was wonderful to hear her laugh. "I think he's almost done eating so Em can come in soon. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah baby. Life is pretty close to perfect."

**BPOV**

When I finished feeding Hayden, I put him back into his incubator with the help of Natalie who was working the afternoon shift. Edward stepped into the hallway and immediately went to go get Emmett, who was beyond desperate to meet his nephew. I was just easing my tired body back into the rocking chair when Emmett walked in, his hands freshly clean, with a huge smile on his face.

The moment he saw me though, his smile turned to a frown and he seemed remorseful. I held up my hand to stop him before he spoke. "I can see you want to apologize, but don't. I already talked to Edward and regardless of how you feel; none of this was truly your fault. It was just a series of shitty circumstances."

Within seconds, I felt Emmett's big burly arms wrapped around me and I let out an audible gasp of surprise. "Dude, hands off my wife," Edward says through his laughter as Emmett pulls back and the chair wobbles a bit with me in it.

"Sorry, and I know this isn't the place to say it, but you guys are way too forgiving. I was an idiot and you guys are basically just ignoring the fact that I messed up, hugely!" I let out a small laugh as Edward runs his hands through his hair, clearly frustrated.

"Emmett, why don't you shut your pie hole and meet your nephew," I said firmly as he turned around and I wished I could see his reaction, but his back was to me. I stood up from the chair and worked my way around him and Edward, surprised as hell to see Emmett crying.

"He's so fricking tiny," announced Emmett as I patted his shoulder soothingly.

"He's not that small anymore. He has an appetite that rivals yours," Edward and I both laughed and I noticed Emmett press his hand firmly against the incubator. "If you want, you can touch him. Put your hand in." Emmett looked at me, the anxiety clear on his face, before he finally relented and shoved his huge hand in the incubator. Edward told him to hold on to Hayden's foot or hand and when Hayden grasped Em's oversized finger, Em let out a small sigh.

"I bet he poops like crazy," laughed Emmett as I rolled my eyes and was happy to see the old Emmett come back. "I'm kinda relieved Rosie and I didn't have one when we thought we would. He'd be like four now and probably a royal pain in my ass."

"Emmett, you have such shitty luck… you would have gotten a daughter."

"Shut up Edward. If I ever have a daughter, from the day she is born, I plan to sit on my porch with a shotgun to keep all the guys like me away," he said in all seriousness as Edward and I both broke out into grins.

"Good luck with that bro," said Edward as he nudged him with his shoulder and rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but find myself grateful that things were getting back on track. Now if we could only get Hayden out of the hospital and into his train filled nursery where he belonged, life would be complete.

A week later, and two weeks after Hayden was born, Edward and I made arrangements for both sets of our parents to drive separately down to New York to our house. Alice was already back in the city and she had offered to meet them there so that they could make sure they got everything. They were on a mission to pick up the stroller, car seat and a large assortment of diapers, clothes and other things for the baby; so that when Hayden finally did get released from the hospital we weren't empty handed and unable to take him home.

When Edward and I walked into the hospital, we were greeted by Tracy, who was just getting ready to go home from her shift. "I was hoping I would see you two before I left," she said happily as Edward and I looked at each other anxiously. "Oh, it's not bad news. Don't freak out."

When we finally breathed a sigh of relief, Tracy led us over to the NICU, where Hayden's incubator was empty. Beside it though, was a small open crib and he was fast asleep in it. I held my hand up to my heart and I was about to start crying when I noticed how content Hayden looked. He still had the heart monitors attached to him, but he seemed to be improving, which was the best news ever. "How is he doing? Is this okay?" I asked tentatively as Tracy shook her head up and down.

"He's doing excellent. He is steadily gaining weight and if his body temperature stays steady for the next few days while he is in the open crib, he'll be able to go home before you know it." I started to jump up and down as I felt Edward wrap his arms tightly around my waist, pulling me to him as he buried his head into my shoulder.

"That is the best news I have ever heard in my life. Even better than when my wife here agreed to travel through Europe together," Edward said genuinely as I grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. I couldn't help but notice that he was trying to suck on his thumb and I remembered how Tracy and Natalie had both mentioned this was a sign that Hayden was hungry, so I tentatively picked him up and brought him tight to my chest. We sat down in the rocking chair and almost immediately upon offering my breast to him, Hayden latched on and began sucking away like a little piggy. I couldn't have been happier.

I rocked back and forth, singing lullabies to Hayden as Edward stepped outside to the front of the hospital to call his parents and let them know the good news. As I sat there, stroking his fine hair, I found myself wondering how I had gotten here. From simply deciding to take a trip to Europe without my best friend, I had found the love of my life. My husband and the father of my son. I hadn't expected anything remotely close to that when I had gotten on the plane from Seattle four and a half years ago. God, my life had changed so drastically since I met that gorgeous disheveled boy at J.F.K Airport.

"_They're boarding now," he said politely, but I was staring at his intense green eyes. I blushed almost immediately when I found myself glaring at his bronze colored hair, which looked like it had just been through a wind tunnel. It was everywhere, but it was sexy. I nervously gathered my stuff into my bag and lined up to get on the flight._

_It was only a few minutes later, when my seat mate, a larger man in a bright red shirt, stood and moved seats. Suddenly, the hot guy from the waiting area was seated next to me and he wore the brightest smile I had ever seen._

"_I'm Edward. Edward Cullen," he said as he offered me his hand. I didn't take it though. I was kind of weirded out that this guy had just changed seats from first class to come and sit beside me._

"_Bella," I replied abruptly as I tried to find my iPod in my carryon baggage. I pulled it out and placed it gently on my lap, reaching the ear buds into my ears._

"_You have to wait for the flight to take off before you can listen to your iPod." It was like taking a plane with my mother. I anticipated him handing me the safety brochure from the pocket in front of us so that he could remind me where all the exits were. He was sexy, but he was odd." Where are you headed?"_

"_I'm going to India. Where do you think I'm going?" I answered in frustration. He couldn't seem to take a hint could he?_

"_I hear it's nice there. Monkeys and cows line the streets. Very clean," Edward started to laugh at his own joke, and it was actually very cute. I smiled back at him involuntarily because the sound of his laugh made me do it. Damn sexy hair and cute laugh._

"_Why did you leave first class to come sit beside me?"_

"_Why not? I was sitting alone and you were sitting with the Kool-aid mascot and you looked uncomfortable, so I switched. Are you mad at me?" I wasn't sure what I was. He was behaving oddly, but at the same time, it was kind of endearing._

"_It's fine. I'm just gonna let you know that if you start stalking me when we get off the plane, I will be calling Scotland Yard."_

"You look lost in thought," said Edward casually as he strolled in and I noticed Hayden was fast asleep again, and no longer eating.

"I was just thinking about this teenage boy who was stalking me in London," I said with a giggle as I handed Hayden over to Edward, who laid him back to rest in his crib after giving him a sweet peck on the forehead. Edward then sat in a nearby chair and patted his lap, signaling for me to come sit with him. "If it wasn't for the fact that he stole my heart, I would have called Scotland Yard on his ass for creeping me out."

"I didn't creep you out, did I?" he asked gently, stroking my hair softly as I leaned my temple against his. "I mean, I know I was pretty persistent with you, but I had never met anyone like you. I still haven't. You have made my life worth living Bella. You and now Hayden." I kissed his lips sweetly and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I have to admit, when you showed up at the gallery in London, I was shocked. Actually shocked was probably an understatement. I couldn't figure out why you were there, until you told me at dinner that you wanted to travel with me."

"I was pretty bold huh? I honestly didn't know any other way to spend more time with you. I couldn't have the summer go by without attempting to see you again," Edward said genuinely as I felt his lips against the side of my neck. His scent was overwhelming me and I remembered another reason why I loved him so much. He was genuine and everything I always wanted, but didn't know at the time.

"What would you have done if you didn't see me in the gallery?" I questioned as Edward grinned from ear to ear.

"I would have hunted all over Europe for you. You can't honestly think I would have let you go without a fight?" Edward and I both laughed and we spent the rest of the afternoon simply watching our son and taking care of him as best as we could. Edward's mother called just before dinner to let us know that they were back and had everything we had requested and then some. When we got back to their house much later that night, their version of 'then some' was shocking. I think they brought everything that wasn't nailed down in the nursery. It was simply ridiculous.

Little did we know four days later when we arrived at the hospital, that we would be getting the best news we could ever hear. Hayden was finally coming home.

Tracy sat us down and told us how good he was doing with his feeding and how he was almost 6 pounds, which was excellent. He had been breathing all on his own and his temperature was very steady. Tracy said he was just as good as a full term baby, and my heart almost leapt from my chest in excitement. Edward ran outside and called his parents, begging them to come to the hospital to join us.

I had to laugh because it was just the night before that Edward and Carlisle spent over two hours in the garage trying to put the car seat in. When Esme and I had offered our two cents, both of them were too stubborn to listen to us. I felt a twinge of frustration at the timing of Hayden's release; because it was just two days earlier that my parents made the trip back to Forks, unable to put off going back to the real world any longer.

While Edward was gone, Tracy let me know that they had been in contact with my doctor's office back in New York and they were arranging for a nurse to come in and see Hayden in three days. Since we had no where for Hayden to sleep in Boston yet, we had gotten the okay to travel back to Bedford with him, so that we could get him accustomed to his own crib. I was practically bouncing off the walls when I finally got into the nursery and Hayden was awake and smiling cheerfully in his crib.

"Are you ready to go home today, Peanut?" I asked brightly as I picked him up and cradled him to me while I walked slowly around the room. "Your daddy and I can't wait to get you home so that we can snuggle you, feed you, play with you and watch you grow."

I spent the next half hour feeding Hayden and once that was done, I got him changed into some clothes that Edward and I had left at the hospital for this particular moment. It was a simple blue fleece pant and sweater set, with a matching beanie, with his Boston Red Sox onesie underneath. We had a small bunting already set in the car seat and when Edward walked into the nursery clutching the seat firmly in his hands, Natalie was now on shift and she helped us run a car seat test. They kept Hayden in his seat for over an hour and when there were no side effects, and after they made us watch a short video about infant CPR, they let us go home. Every single wire came off of Hayden and as he was laid back into the car seat, I began to get nervous and sat down at the first seat I could find.

"Are you alright?" questioned Edward as he came over to kneel in front of me, resting his hands on my thighs. "Do you need a paper bag?"

"No, I just need a second. Do you think I will be a good mom Edward?" I questioned anxiously as he looked at me with a small frown on his face.

"Bella, you have been a mom for the past three weeks. Whether you are a mom here or back in New York, you are still a mom and I think Hayden will agree with me that you have been an excellent mom." I closed my eyes briefly and felt Edward's lips move softly against mine. "Now, let's get home before I have you readmitted for being crazy. I never thought you would want to stay in this hospital for another moment after Hayden was given the all okay to leave."

"You're right," I said firmly as I stood up and moved towards Hayden, picking him up gently in my arms. "Let's go home."

**A/N: Okay, now that you had read that, and before you hit the button to review, write down these stories: Mind Over Matter by SubtlePen explores the time between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and Bella tries to get Edward more comfortable with her sexually. It's only 2 chapters in, very well written and I am looking forward to reading more.**

**I'm absolutely in love with Late Night Encounters by Kyla713 and Exes and Ohs by Brain in the Gutter, so rush to read them too. I also found like 3 people this week who weren't reading 'The Screamers' by KiyaRaven. What the hell rock are you people living under. Go read this if you are interested in fuckhot smut, hilarious situations and banter, and some of the best characterizations in fic. I seriously find no fault in this story, and I'm kinda a fic elitist. Once you've read the Screamers, go read her one shot called 'Grasping Darkness' OMG!**


	35. Our Home to Our Life Together

**A/N: And it's coming closer… and by it, I mean the ending. After this, I have about 3-4 more chapters planned, each of which will have flashbacks to the original story, American Girl. As we wind down, I'm curious to know what your favorite scenes in either story were? So when you review, let me know. It may be worked into future chapters.**

**Before you ask, yes I will have an outtake done for their wedding night. Expect it in a week or two. Also, if you were considering buying me in the Fandom Gives Back Auction which starts on the 15****th****, just know that this one shot is already in planning, so think of something else you want me to write. I'm up for anything.**

**As per usual, I don't own Twilight. I' do have a big tub of gummies bears beside me. It's depleting quickly.**

**EPOV**

"Is it supposed to smell like that? Or look like that even?" I questioned as Bella rolled her eyes at me, but watched with interest as I began to change Hayden's diaper. In the two weeks since he had been home, I had been doing my best to help out with everything, but today was just taking the cake.

"You've changed a lot of his poopy diapers Edward, why are you suddenly freaked out?" laughed Bella as she pulled out a new outfit, a dark blue long sleeved footed sleeper and handed it to me as I finished cleaning every nook and cranny on Hayden.

"I'm not just suddenly freaked out. I'm always freaked out when changing his diaper, not just because of the poo but also because I'm scared he's going to pee on me one of these days. Today's diaper just seems especially heinous," I said as I turned my head away from the change table quickly and tossed the firmly wrapped and extremely rancid smelling diaper to Bella, who put it in the diaper genie. "I love him with all of my soul baby, but how can someone so little do something like that?"

Bella helped me put Hayden into his new little sleeper and I carried him back downstairs and into the living room, where Emmett and Rosalie were waiting for us. They came over with pizza and were desperate to get us to have a little adult time, seeing as since Hayden had come back to Bedford we had barely left the house.

When we had arrived home the first night, Bella and I were both shocked to find the kitchen completely stocked. Alice had apparently come over one day and cleaned out the fridge before heading down to the grocery store and getting any sort of food that Bella and I would desire. The freezer was also stocked with pre-made meals that simply needed to be heated up, thus making life a little easier for Bella and me. We ended up shoving a lasagna in the oven that night and managed to finally eat it at ten thirty, when Hayden took a short nap in his bouncer, which was now perched beside our dining room table.

The nurse had come to the house three days after we had gotten home, just like they had advised us in Boston and even though she said we looked pretty tired, she was happy to report that Hayden was doing really well. I just wished I could say the same for his mom and dad.

The stress of the past few weeks was beginning to take its toll on Bella and I, and I found both of us were more volatile than usual. We argued over small things like who should take the garbage out and do the dishes, which had never been an issue in the past. However, since we didn't argue the entire time Hayden was in the hospital, things were reaching their boiling point. When I mentioned something in passing over the phone to Emmett, I was shocked to see him at our door an hour later with his wife and two large pizzas.

Once Bella and I brought Hayden back to the living room, Rosalie was quick to take him from my arms and snuggle him as much as she could. She was a doting aunt in every sense of the word, and I was looking forward to the night that she and Emmett would babysit Hayden so I could spend some time alone with my wife.

"So, what's with the bags under your eyes?" asked Emmett as he flipped the channels on me TV and had his feet up like he lived here.

"Don't be such a dumbass Emmett," chastised Rosalie, which was such a change from her cutesy behavior with Hayden only seconds ago. "Babies are a lot of fricking work. Combine that with the fact that he's only been home for two weeks and that Edward has to go back to work soon, and you'd have bags under your eyes too."

"Thank you Rosalie," Bella said as she threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't think my husband realizes how big of a change it will be when he has to go back to work."

"Bella, they haven't even given me a date to go back. Hell, I could probably work from home for a while if you really want me to," I said angrily. The fact that Bella would soon be looking after Hayden full-time by herself was also weighing heavily on us. I knew Bella was anxious about being alone with him, but she really was a natural at being a mom. Her nerves were just stemming from the unknown and each time I tried to reassure her, we fought again.

"I thought you wanted to go back to work?" Bella snapped as Emmett and Rosalie both looked at us, their faces showing how uncomfortable they were listening to us argue.

"We're not going into this right now. My brother and his wife came over to spend time with us and eat some pizza, so let's eat," I said as I stood up from my spot on the couch and headed into the kitchen. No one followed me though. I pulled out a beer from the fridge and took a long swig of it, before I grabbed the plates from the cupboard and took them into the dining room.

Bella was sliding Hayden into his little bouncer as Emmett and Rosalie were flipping open the pizzas. I handed each of them a plate and we ate in awkward silence as the girls talked about Bella's rescheduled baby shower. Since Hayden made his arrival into the world a little sooner than expected, Bella never got to have the baby shower that the girls had been planning. They even had Angela and Ben all set to fly out as a surprise, but that had to be changed. They were still coming to visit us, and the shower was now going to be held next weekend. Alice had been busting her ass to make sure all the arrangements were complete. In fact, she had been so busy with things since we had gotten home with Hayden; we had only seen her twice since being back in.

When dinner was over, I cleaned up as Bella and Rosalie disappeared into the living room with Hayden. When it was time for his next feeding, Bella looked downright frustrated at the fact that I reminded her about it. "I think I can remember to feed my own son," she said angrily at me as I just shrugged my shoulders and walked out of the room again. I was becoming non-confrontational since Hayden came along and I think that was pissing off Bella as well.

"You doing okay brother?" asked Emmett, when he found me putting the plates away into the dishwasher. I held onto the edge of the counter and bent my head down. I looked back towards the doorway before speaking, because the last thing I needed was for Bella to hear me.

"I've been better," I admitted as I put another plate away and Emmett moved closer, his burly arm wrapping around my shoulder.

"You need to sit down and talk to her about your problems Edward," said Emmett genuinely as I nodded my head slowly in agreement.

"That would work if she would listen to me once in a while. Ever since we got home, it was like I brought a new Bella with me. We only talk civilly in front of Hayden or we just stop talking at all. When we were upstairs changing him, it was like I was with a different Bella. She was smiling, joking with me about how disgusting his diaper was," I was saying as Emmett held up his hand to quiet me.

"Okay, too much information on the shit front brother. Let's just talk emotional wreck of a wife alright?"

"Fine."

"Rosalie has noticed that Bella has been a little off lately too, so she is trying to talk to some sense into her. Do you have any idea on why she is acting like this?" he questioned as I ran my fingers through my hair and grabbed the back of my neck, pulling it roughly in frustration.

"I think she is freaked out about being home alone with Hayden. She doubts that she is a good mother, she doubts every time I try to reassure her and its driving me to my breaking point. I know I shouldn't be mad at her because this is such a new experience for both of us, but it's hard because she takes all of her frustration out on me," I admitted reluctantly to Emmett, who was being surprisingly helpful. Considering that only three weeks ago he and I were not even on speaking terms, this was a major change for us.

"I think you need to sit down with her and give her the 411. Tell her what you are thinking and ask her to explain herself. I know I sound like some bitch on Oprah or something, but seriously dude, talk to your wife," he said stoically as Rosalie suddenly walked through the door holding Hayden tightly in her arms. He was fast asleep and looked very content and happy.

"We're going to take Hayden upstairs and put him in his crib. You need to go in there," Rosalie said, as she motioned with her shoulder towards the living room, "and talk to your woman. There must be some serious communication breakdown in this household or something like that." Emmett nodded his head and dutifully followed his wife out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

When I finally headed into the living room a minute later, I found Bella curled up on the couch in tears. I was quick to pick her up and hold her in my arms as I sat down on the couch. She sat on my lap, her legs beside her and I stroked her hair for what seemed like a long time, even though it was only minutes.

"I'm sorry," we both forced out at the same time, which brought a small smile to our faces. "You can go first."

Bella took a moment to breathe in a deep breath; her crying now subsided, but tears still staining her cheeks. I wiped them away with the pad of my thumb and waited anxiously for her to start speaking. "I'm sorry I have been an emotional basket case. I'm so nervous about everything and even though I think I am doing everything right, I have no reassurances."

"You have them from me baby. I think you are doing great as a mom," I said honestly as I kissed her temple and pulled her closer to me.

"Yeah, but you don't know if I am or not. We just know that he is eating, sleeping, pissing and shitting and that's it. How do we know if what we are doing is actually right?" I reached my hand up and moved a few more tears away before sliding a couple of stray hairs behind her ears. "What if I am doing it all wrong and when you go back to work in a few days, things fall apart?"

I suddenly realized that she was right. Even though I could reassure her as much as I could, I had no basis for comparison. I thought she was being an excellent mother, but she was still anxious about it all. "Listen baby, Hayden is a happy little bundle of joy. He rarely cries, he eats better than his uncle Emmett when he's starving and he's growing like a weed. I think whatever we are doing is right for us and for him. I know this is new for both of us, but you know what? We manage some sleep every night, Hayden wants for nothing and he's content. I think he's just fine."

"What if I'm a bad parent Edward?"

"Bella, I know bad parents… and you my sweet wife are not a bad parent." I kissed her lips sweetly and let out a small sigh as Bella nodded her head slowly. "Are you going to stop worrying?"

"I can't make any promises, but I am going to stop taking my frustrations out on you. I love you too much to do that anymore," she said while we heard footsteps descending the stairs. Emmett and Rosalie stuck their heads in the room a moment later, both looking overjoyed. They noticed the closeness between Bella and me and were relieved to see we had talked about our concerns.

"Okay, so Hayden is the cutest thing ever. If you ever want us to take him off your hands for a night or forever, just let us know," gushed Rosalie as Bella and I both laughed at her naiveté.

"You only think he's cute because he was asleep. Let's see how you feel about him at 3 in the morning when he's latched onto your breast, sucking the life out of you and all you want to do is sleep," said Bella, as Rosalie looked at her with wide eyes.

"Or how about when he poops so much you have no idea how such a small child could do that. You still want him forever?" I asked as Emmett shook his head in the negative.

"Maybe we'll just babysit… when he's potty trained."

"Yeah, I wish I had thought of that," I laughed as Bella kissed me sweetly. I was happy that life seemed to be getting back on track.

**BPOV**

The very next weekend was hectic to say the least. Angela and Ben arrived on Thursday night and Edward picked them up at JFK and brought them home. It was nice to see her and have an extra set of hands around the house and I didn't even need to ask her to do anything before she was already doing it. It was also nice to have someone finally sleeping in our guest room. We had it ready since mid December when we thought my parents would be spending New Years with us, but they ended up being in Boston with us for Hayden's birth instead.

My mother wasn't able to fly back for the baby shower, but we talked on the phone several times a week and she reassured me the same way that Edward had. It was normal for all women to have doubts about their abilities as a mother, but they knew what was best for their children, so I tried to remember these words of wisdom as I went through my days and nights with my son.

Angela and I spent Friday shopping in the city for a little bit, while Ben and Edward pulled baby duty. Even though Edward had reassured me that they would be fine, I was a bundle of nerves the entire time we were away from the house. I texted Edward like three times in one hour and when I got no response, I was quick to call him and find out if something was wrong. Of course, it simply turned out that his phone was upstairs in our bedroom and he and Ben had been watching sports on TV with Hayden in the living room.

I spent the rest of the afternoon convincing myself that the boys were just fine at the house and tried to enjoy my time with Angela. We talked and window shopped more than anything else, both us of buying very few things, although I did buy something special at La Perla to wear for Edward once I was given the all go from the doctor for sex to recommence. Edward had been more than a little anxious in that department, but he was being as sweet as he could, considering his own sexual frustration. I couldn't remember a time where we had gone this long without sex.

When we finally came home, clutching bags of Chinese food from a wonderful restaurant a few blocks away, Edward was laying on the floor with Hayden, playing on his small play mat as Hayden laid on his back, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Ben was sipping a beer and watching a repeat of the Soup on E!

"We brought dinner," announced Angela as I took both of our bags upstairs, resting hers on the guest room bed and hiding mine in the back of our closet. I got changed into something more comfortable and when I got downstairs, Edward was waiting patiently, holding Hayden tightly in his arms.

"How were my boys today?"

"Things were great. Ben and I taught him the best pick up lines to use on women. Then we taught him how to tell real breasts from fake ones, before Ben decided to teach him all about golf. We lost him when we started that discussion," joked Edward as I kissed him lightly and took Hayden from his arms. "I fed him about two hours ago, so he may start getting hungry soon."

Angela and Ben called us from the dining room, where they had laid everything out for dinner. We put Hayden in his little bouncer and I ate as fast as I could because I noticed he was trying to suck on his hand, another sign that he was hungry. I excused myself shortly after I finished and took Hayden upstairs to feed him in private, not wanting to make our friends uncomfortable while they were trying to finish their meals. After he was fed and content, we put him to sleep in the bassinet in our bedroom, not wanting to have his cries at night wake up our guests, even though Angela insisted they wouldn't mind.

When Saturday morning rolled around, I found myself not wanting to go to the baby shower that Esme, Alice and Rosalie had planned. Most of the women attending were people I had only met in passing at Rosalie's wedding or engagement party. Carmen and a few other girls from the museum were coming as well as some girls I went to Columbia with, but otherwise it felt like it would be awkward.

Needless to say, I was right in my assumptions.

When I walked into the restaurant with Angela where the shower was being held, I started to get funny looks because I was no longer pregnant, nor did I bring Hayden with me. Edward and I thought it would be best if he stayed home for a while since he was still so little. We really didn't want to take a chance that someone here was sick, thus getting Hayden sick, so Edward was planning to bring him later, when he came with the Volvo to pick me and the gifts up.

"When are you due?" was the first question out of Edward's Aunt Thelma's mouth. Thankfully, Esme came over and cornered her, taking it upon herself to explain that I was no longer pregnant and that Hayden was home with Edward. I suffered through this same embarrassment three more times before Alice called the room to order and announced all the specifics about Hayden's birth. I ended up hiding in the corner and analyzing the train themed diaper cake a little too much, simply so I didn't call any more attention to myself as Alice explained everything.

We ate lunch in relative silence and only when the gift opening began did some of the guests start to get more excitable. I think it was just because the liquor was kicking in. I should have learned my lesson from Rosalie's bridal shower and insisted on it being dry. Yeah, like a Cullen would attend any event that was dry.

I got a lot of practical gifts like baby wash, receiving blankets and clothing, which including a onesie set and a hat from Alice that said 'Boob Man'. She had even gotten it in two different colors and two different sizes so that he grew into it. Alice also got us several other cute onesies and some really adorable overalls for Hayden. As I held them up, I found myself wishing he was big enough to wear them already. "Those are so precious," said Rosalie as she came up behind me and offered me an apple cider that she assured me wasn't spiked by Edward's crazy relatives.

"I know right? I can totally picture Hayden wearing them down at the beach house in the summer," I said wistfully. I was beginning to miss Hayden already and we were only apart for two hours so far. How the hell was I going to go back to work full time in a few months, I wondered to myself as Rosalie sat beside me while we took a quick break from opening the gifts.

"After the other night at your place with Hayden, I think Emmett wants to try for kids sooner rather than later," admitted Rosalie, and I was taken aback slightly. "Can we do each other a favor?"

"What would that be?" I questioned curiously as Alice came over with the next gift and I held up a hand to make her wait.

"Can we babysit one night for Hayden? Surely you and Edward could use a night out, and I just want Emmett to see how hard babies are. I want children with him, but we aren't ready yet. I like my freedom and Emmett does too, he just doesn't think life will change drastically if we have a kid soon," stated Rosalie as I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. She was begging to borrow my son so that her husband wouldn't want a baby. This was classic.

"Sure, you guys can babysit for Hayden one night. Let me discuss it with Edward tonight and maybe in a few weeks we can have you come over and look after him." Rosalie nodded her head eagerly and Alice handed me the next gift, glad that we had finished our conversation.

The best gift I received was from Angela, and it was a framed cross stitch that she had made herself the day after I told her that Edward and I were having a boy. It was a simple nursery rhyme in the center of the frame, with small trains, toys and blocks surrounding it. It read:

_What are little boys made of?_

_Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails_

_That's what little boys are made of._

By the time the last gift was opened, Edward texted me to let me know that he was around the corner and wanted to know if it was safe to arrive. I quickly called him to tell him he was good to go, and when he walked into the restaurant with Hayden in the Baby Bjorn, with the baby bag slung over his shoulder and the room practically exploded. All the women rushed over to see Hayden and Edward, and for the first time all day, I was not the center of attention. It felt wonderful.

When I looked across the room, Edward was practically pleading with his eyes for me to save him from the masses. He eventually mumbled something about how Hayden needed to be fed and wormed his way from the crazies, finding me sitting in a chair surrounded by dozens of gifts. "Is he really hungry or were you just desperate to get away from the hordes of women?"

"Did you just call them whores?" laughed Edward as he lifted Hayden from the holder and I grabbed the receiving blanket Edward offered me from the baby bag and quickly slung it over my shoulder, releasing the buttons on my shirt so that I could feed Hayden. He was eager to latch on and as I sat down feeding him, Esme, Rosalie and Alice wished all of our guests' farewell. I felt bad for not saying goodbye, but everyone was very understanding. Edward even went to go say goodbye to some his favorite aunts before coming back to load some of the presents in the back of the Volvo.

Ben picked up Angela and took her to dinner down at Tavern on the Green. Edward was able to call and get them a reservation at the last minute, and we pushed them to go and do it, since it was their first time in New York City and they had spent most of it with us. I gave Angela an awkward hug when she left, since I was still feeding Hayden and I handed her my house keys just in case they stayed out late.

When Edward and I finally got home from the shower, I was simply exhausted and he looked no better than me. We ate leftover Chinese from the night before and settled in for a quiet night, choosing to relax instead of doing anything major. Edward brought the stuff in from the car while I changed Hayden into his pajamas and put him into bed. Edward and I crawled into bed together, snuggling close until I passed out.

When I woke up almost three hours later, I was surprised to see the bed empty beside me. I was also surprised to realize that I hadn't heard Hayden fuss earlier to have a feeding. I climbed from the bed and walked around the upstairs looking for Edward. I assumed that Angela and Ben had gotten back already since the guest room door was closed firmly as they slept.

When I entered the nursery, a small smile crossed my face at the scene before me. Edward was dancing slowly around the room, holding Hayden tightly in his arms as he sung 'Into the Mystic' by Van Morrison to him, which was playing quietly on the stereo. I couldn't help but remember our time dancing to the exact same song in Paris.

"_Are we dancing?" I asked with a nervous grin as Edward nodded his head._

"_My mom made me take dancing classes when I was younger, for all those damned debutante balls I had to go to years ago. So now, I'm putting it to good use."_

"_I don't dance. Well, I bump and grind, I don't slow dance," I said as I blushed furiously within Edward's firm grasp._

"_You don't have to dance Bella. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine. I would never let anything bad happen to you," he said confidently as he kissed the tip of my nose and Van Morrison began to fill the room._

"_I love this song," I sighed as I gripped Edward tighter and I started to sing along, "We were born before the wind, also younger than the sun… Charlie used to sing this to me when I was younger." Edward moved me across the wooden floor, smiling from ear to ear. The dance lessons were clearly paying off because even though I seemed nervous, we were still standing, and that was clearly a victory to Edward._

"_Jazz and I used to listen to a lot of Van Morrison when we got stoned," Edward admitted tentatively. "Okay, so it's not as sweet as your story, but it's still true," he said with a deep laugh as I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his back._

"_I don't care if your stories involve pot or drinking or anything else, you should know by now that I just want to know everything about you," I said firmly._

"Hey," I whispered quietly, pulling Edward out of his thoughts. I wandered closer to them and Edward opened up one arm and pulled me into their dance, as he kept singing quietly to us. "Did he wake up?"

"Yeah, just for a few minutes though. I warmed up one of the bottles you had in the fridge and offered it to him and he took it like a greedy little pig," laughed Edward quietly as he kissed my forehead sweetly before doing the same to Hayden. "He fell asleep shortly after his bottle was done and I have been trying to burp him, while dancing of course."

"You guys looked so cute; I didn't want to interrupt you. You looked deep in thought sweetie," I said as I ran my hand through his hair and looked at his tired eyes. "What were you thinking about?"

"Paris."

"Me too," I replied quietly as Edward pulled away from me slightly and lifted Hayden to put him back in his bed. When our son was comfortably lying on his back, Edward pulled me back into his arms and began singing softly to me again.

"I was thinking how lucky I was to have found you, because without you, we wouldn't have him," Edward said as he motioned with his head towards the crib. "The first day I met you I knew there was no one else for me."

"No one else Edward. No one else ever."

**A/N: Have I mentioned how much I love my girls Tilly Whitlock and Kiki Enigma? No? Well you clearly don't read my author notes. These girls have an awesome blog called Pic's Fan Fic Corner www . picffcorner . blogspot . com. This week's featured author is kikikinz and her story 'Seeing Their Future' so go check it out. Seriously… run now. **


	36. Our Life Together to Orgasmtown

**A/N: I shouldn't be surprised that most of you preferred Vienna and Paris as your favorite destinations in American Girl. A lot of you also enjoyed Las Vegas, and I do promise to get an outtake in place for the wedding night and post it in the near future.**

**Speaking of outtakes, I'm up for sale to the first 3 bidders, in the Fandom Gives Back Auction, which starts at 10am EST tomorrow morning (Nov 15****th****) So if you are interested in a one shot from any of my stories, or perhaps you want me to write something completely different, make sure you visit the thefandomgivesback . com for more information on all of the auctions.**

**A Super gigantic thank you to MaggieMay14 and flightlessbird11 for reviewing and encouraging about 1,000 additional words of madness. There are outfits for this chapter posted on my profile page, so go check them out. Risbee… you know which words are for you bb!**

**I don't own Twilight, I do have a husband who won't shut the fuck up though.**

**EPOV**

Every day things got better between Bella and me, although our attention was completely held by our son. Even the smallest things, like Hayden looking at us with a small smile, which Bella insisted was gas, made me happy. I reluctantly went back to work a week after Bella's baby shower and was pleased when Bella found a routine with Hayden that she enjoyed. Of course, the highlight of my days was when I got home and saw my beautiful wife and son.

"Honey, I'm home," I called out jokingly as I walked through the front door, pulling off my coat and shoes off and leaving them by the door. I hung my coat up and as I walked towards the kitchen, I could hear the soft gurgling sounds of my son; he sounded happy. "Did I miss anything exciting today?" I asked as I kissed Bella's temple and turned my attention towards Hayden, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Well the day started out rough because the little man here decided he wanted to go shopping for a motorcycle. I quickly squashed that idea and then he got angry at me because I wouldn't let him watch porn on Pay Per View. He then threw a tantrum and tossed a block across the room when I told him he had to have breast milk for lunch and not a Big Mac like he wanted," she joked as I rolled my eyes and made a few silly faces at Hayden, who was sitting contentedly in his bouncer while Bella stirred something in a pot that smelled delicious.

I reached forward and grabbed the spoon in her hand, lifting it to my mouth and groaning happily as I tasted the spaghetti sauce she was cooking. "That tastes excellent babe," I said honestly, as Bella nodded her head in response. "Oh… my mother called me today."

"What did she have to say? Has she bought Hayden his first Mercedes yet?" Bella asked as she strolled over to the pantry and pulled out a box of whole wheat spaghetti noodles.

"No, actually she was curious about Christmas. In the clusterfuck that was Hayden's birth, we never celebrated and her and my dad have a ton of gifts kicking around. Emmett mentioned it to me in passing last time we saw them too, so what do you think?"

"What do I think about what babe? Do I think we should get together and finally have Christmas even though it's the first week of February… sure," laughed Bella as I bent down and picked Hayden up out of his bouncer, moving slowly with him in my arms around the room as Bella and I continued talking.

"I doubt anyone still has a tree up, and since everyone is in New York, with the exception of your parents, so how about you invite them here? I can make dinner for all of us and we can even do it this weekend if you want," she suggested, her eyes betraying the excitement in her voice. She turned away and poured the noodles into her boiling water, as I noticed a slight stench that wasn't in the room earlier. "You're holding him, so you get to change him."

"Since when is that a rule of ours?" I laughed as I took another quick smell and sure enough, Hayden was the cause of the unpleasant smell.

"Since now," she said forcefully as I rolled my eyes. "I've changed him all day so go take care of it and when you get back, dinner will be almost ready." I nodded my head diligently and climbed up the stairs with the little shit machine, eager to change him and move onto dinner.

The rest of our night went by quickly, with me doing the dishes as Bella finalized plans with my mother for our pseudo Christmas party on the weekend. My parents were going to come into town for the entire weekend and stay with Rosalie and Emmett, who had a bigger place than Jasper and Alice. It was a running joke in the family that Jazz and Alice liked to live like starving artists even though they had more than enough money between the two of them to afford something a little nicer than where they currently lived. In my recent conversations with Jasper, I knew he had been saving up for an engagement ring for Alice, unwilling to dip into his trust fund for it because he was starting to loathe the money that was there. I chalked that up to him spending too much time with Bella in the past few weeks and really learning the value of a dollar. I also thought he was an idiot.

When we finally crawled into bed that night, I let out a long sigh of relief. As I rolled over, wrapping my arm firmly around Bella's waist, I was disappointed to discover that she was already out like a light. With a slight groan of frustration I made sure the baby monitor was on, and then fell into an uneasy sleep until just after midnight when Hayden woke up for his first feeding. I let Bella rest and grabbed Hayden from his bed, taking him downstairs to warm up his bottle and feed him. I knew I would be dead on my feet in the morning, but every second I spent with Hayden and helped Bella was worth it, in my opinion.

When Saturday rolled around, I was on baby duty while Bella buzzed around the kitchen like a shiz-tzu on a case on Red Bull. She was swamped, but every time I offered to help her, she insisted that she had it handled. So instead, I went to sit in the living room, holding Hayden in my arms as we watched a hockey game on TV. I wanted to teach him the finer points of the game, in an effort to have some father son bonding time, but to be honest I didn't know the game that well myself. I yelled at the screen when the Bruins fans seemed angry, but that was the extent of it. Hayden just looked happy to be with me, so I didn't worry about.

It was just before three in the afternoon when my family started filing in. Jasper and Alice arrived first and even before Alice got her coat off, she was all over me to get to Hayden. She started spouting a bunch of random baby talk as Jasper helped her take her coat off and hung it on our coat rack by the door. "She hasn't stopped talking about seeing him since we got in the car," laughed Jasper as Jasper ushered me into the den. Alice began walking around with Hayden, soothing him to sleep as we walked by.

"So, I'm going to do it," stated Jasper as he shut the door behind us once we had walked into the den.

"Do what? Could you be more cryptic man?"

"I'm going to ask Alice to marry me. She's only been hinting about it since she found out that you and Bella eloped in Vegas. When she's not talking about babies lately, she's talking about weddings. It's like her biological clock is a ticking time bomb man," said Jasper, his voice cracking because he sounded a bit frazzled.

"Well, good luck man. You've got your hands full with my little sister," I stated genuinely as he nodded his head in agreement.

"I know, I do, and I couldn't be happier honestly. I'm going to ask her next weekend, since its Valentines and everything. I know, a bit cheesy and overdone, but I was going to ask her on Christmas morning, but we all know some stuff got in the way there," he added as I rolled my eyes at him quickly. "Regardless man, I just want you to be forewarned because I am certain once she says yes; Hurricane Alice will be coming for your wife and asking her to be in the wedding."

"Thanks for the heads up, and honestly man, it's about time you guys make it official," I said as I gave him a quick hug and then Emmett came bounding in the room unannounced.

"Ohh, I'm sorry I interrupted such a special moment between you boys. Were you guys about to kiss, because if so, I'll come back later," laughed Emmett as Jasper smacked him upside the back of the head and I punched him the shoulder. Just as we were both about to call him out for being a complete asshole, our mother rounded the corner with a wide smile on her face.

"We're going to do the gifts while Hayden is still awake so that we can take photos, so let's go boys," she said sternly, which belied the grin that was awash on her face. She held the door open and ushered us out, apparently very eager to open the presents that were due to us months ago. When we walked into the living room, I was shocked to see the sheer amount of presents that were sitting on the table. I was even more shocked to see my mother, in her couture clothes, sitting on the floor. Bella handed Hayden to Esme and then she sat on the couch beside them. The entire scene was a little surreal. Opening Christmas presents in early February with my fancy ass family and no Christmas tree. It's amazing how much things had changed over the past few years.

My father volunteered to hand out the presents, and I was relieved there wasn't that many to go around, even though it looked like there were dozens. It was mainly clothes, gift certificates and things that each of us wanted for the house. Hayden got the brunt of the gifts, which was no surprise. As we opened the clothes and infant toys that they had given us, I couldn't help but daydream as Bella opened up some sleepers, about a few years from now when Hayden was bigger and knew exactly what was going on and who Santa was.

Would he be the only grandchild then? Will Bella and I have another, or maybe my brother or sister will have a child by then? Suddenly, I was envisioning my father with a little grey in his hair, handing out the gifts again, but with a huge Christmas tree by his side. Hayden would open his gifts almost as quickly as they were handed to him and everyone else would be watching in awe.

"Edward," I heard my name called as I pulled myself from my daydream and looked towards my wife who had been calling my name. "Did you dip into the egg nog?" Bella joked as I shook my head slowly.

"Thankfully, no. I still have no idea where Em found a store that carried nog this far away from the holiday season," I admitted honestly as Emmett scoffed behind me while playing with the football phone he got from the subscription to Sports Illustrated that Jasper and Alice had given him.

"It was in our fridge dude. I didn't see any at the store," he admitted as Jasper suddenly pushed his glass of nog away along the coffee table, no longer thirsty. Everyone looked at it with disgust when Emmett admitted that he had not checked the expiration date. Alice quickly jumped up from her seat and confirmed that sure enough, it had expired a month prior.

After we had finished opening the gifts, Hayden had fallen asleep in Rosalie's arms, so she brought him upstairs with Bella trailing behind carrying a medium sized gift box that looked unopened. My curiosity got the better of me and a few minutes after they took Hayden up to his crib, I followed.

"Listen, Rosalie, I don't need you getting involved," I overheard Bella say as my mind began racing as to what could possibly be wrong. Then again, maybe nothing was wrong at all and I was overreacting.

"Bella, your doctor gave you the all okay to have sex again and you aren't. It can't be because you don't want to, because lord knows, you and Edward never had an issue with your sex life before Hayden came along," Rosalie stated as I ran my fingers along the back of my neck. There was something wrong with our sex life?

"It's not that I don't want to have sex, Rosalie," stated Bella firmly as I heard the rustling of paper before Bella spoke again. "I don't think you giving me lingerie is going to help matters. By the time the end of the day rolls around, Edward and I are too damned tired to even think about having sex yet alone do it."

_What the hell? I could have been having sex? I would definitely forgo some sleep for sex._

"Tell him Bella. I'm sure you and Edward can manage to find some time to yourselves. Hayden naps twice a day… there's two quickies right there," laughed Rosalie as I nodded my head eagerly.

"He used to just rub up against me in the middle of the night and we'd go at it like fucking rabbits," I heard Bella admit as I clearly remembered some of our more memorable late night romps. "Now I wonder if he even knows I'm in the same bed as him at night."

As the girls continued talking about our lack of a sex life, and what Bella clearly perceived to be my lack of interest in her, I pressed my hand firm against the wall. How the hell could she think I didn't want her? I had wanted nothing else since the day I first met her and it was certainly no different now that Hayden was here. Apparently my decision to let her sleep and give her some space at night to recharge her batteries was a bad idea.

"Are you guys coming to eat or what?" Emmett shouted out from the main floor, as I ran into the bathroom to hide myself before Bella found out I was eavesdropping. I shut the door firmly behind me and began formulating ways for Bella and I to have some alone time together in the very near future.

**BPOV**

Christmas was fun and it was great to spend time with the entire family, who doted on Hayden more than ever. The only disconcerting part of the entire night had been when Rosalie had cornered me to discuss the sex life, or lack thereof, between Edward and I. It had been early November when we had anything even close to sex and even though it was frustrating me, I didn't want to bother Edward with it. We both had long days and tiresome nights, even though I thought about sex, I didn't want to pressure him. I had my bouts of being self conscious about my body after Hayden was born as well and I wasn't really eager to get naked with Edward right away. He still looked as gorgeous as the day I met him, but I felt vastly different and less attractive.

Rosalie of course, thought the last thing I should be doing was not expressing my concerns to Edward and showed up at Christmas with a box filled with lingerie and sex toys. I took her aside upstairs to let her know that I wasn't really impressed that she was bringing it up during a family event, but she didn't seem too bothered. She was more concerned with the fact that Edward and I weren't doing it.

What surprised me even more was when she showed up at our house the following Friday night with Emmett in tow. She had a garment bag slung over her arm and the two of them bounded into the house like they owned the place. "Bella, what the hell are you wearing?" she asked as I glanced down at my clothes. Sure, I was wearing an old NYU shirt of Edward's which had some spit up on the shoulder, and a pair of oversized sweat pants, but I didn't care. I definitely went for comfort over style these days.

"Come on Rosalie, this is fucking couture," I mocked as Emmett immediately began looking around the house for Hayden and found him perched in his bouncer in the kitchen. I was about to sort through the fridge to find something to make for dinner when they had shown up unannounced.

"I've got the little linebacker, so you girls go get pretty," he said as he picked Hayden up and walked into the living room, grabbing his binkie from the counter and shoving it into Hayden's mouth to quell the crying that was about to start. "Let's go watch chicks jump up and down on trampolines. Your dad says you're a boob man."

Hayden let out a small gurgle of approval and got comfortable in Emmett's arms as they sat on the couch. I looked back towards Rosalie, but she just tugged on my arm and pulled me upstairs, forcing me into a shower as she sat on the counter and began talking. Thank god for frosted glass shower doors.

"So, Em and I are on baby duty tonight. We're even sleeping over," announced Rose as I dropped the bottle of shampoo on the tile floor in surprise. "Don't worry. We know where you keep the emergency numbers and that H isn't supposed to eat peanuts or do any sort of heavy lifting. Edward said there was milk already pumped in the fridge so we are good to go."

"What the hell is going on? I feel like I am in some alternate universe," I said honestly as I did my best to focus on the fact that I was having a shower without having to worry about my son sitting in his bouncer in the bathroom. Although he usually just fell asleep, the sounds of the water making him tired. "Did Edward do this?"

"You could say that," said Rosalie as she let out a small laugh and I pushed open the door slightly to look at her. The shampoo was starting to drip into my eyes, but I was even more curious now than ever. "Just enjoy the night okay. I have a dress already picked out for you. I know you have a perfect set of shoes and a purse already, so we're good. Edward said he packed an overnight bag for you, so I'm not worried about anything."

"I wish I could say the same thing."

I finished my shower in record time and suffered through Rosalie drying, tugging and pulling it up into a sleek ponytail, which seemed to take forever. She let me have five minutes of privacy as I did my makeup and when she came back to join me, she was clutching a very adorable pink dress in her hands. It had thick black straps that criss-crossed under my breasts and the moment I looked at it, I knew it would highlight my newly ample bosom very nicely.

"Don't tell me I made a good choice on the dress. It's an Alice Cullen original, I'm just delivering it to you," she said happily as I walked towards her, my robe tied tightly around my waist as I felt the soft silk of the dress in my hands.

"It's beautiful," I said honestly as she nodded her head at me. When we walked back into the room, I noticed the box that Rosalie had given me last week sitting on the bed. "I bet you think I'm going to wear that don't you?"

"I know you are. I hide all your other under things while you were in the bathroom," she chuckled as I looked over to my dresser and saw that ALL my drawers were gone. I let out a small laugh but I couldn't help but feel like one of the Who's who had their Christmas stolen by the Grinch. I pushed Rosalie out of the room and listened to her feet as she ran downstairs to join Emmett. I pulled on the lingerie and then slipped the dress on before sliding my feet into the heels she had left out. When I looked in the mirror, I honestly felt like a million bucks and it reminded me of Paris, when Edward had pampered me to no end.

When I finally left the bedroom and headed downstairs to find my son, I came face to face with my husband instead. He was impeccably dressed in a beautiful black suit, with a matching tie. "Fuck, you look gorgeous," Edward muttered, looking a bit starstruck. He offered out his hand, and I took it graciously as he helped me the rest of the way down the stairs. We turned the corner and there was Rosalie feeding Hayden his bottle as Emmett flipped through the channels looking for some sort of sporting event.

"You guys know the deal right?" said Edward as he looked at his brother, as though he had to remind him of the rules.

"Yes. No hookers, no drinking and no drugs. As for me and Rosalie, anything is game once the kid falls asleep," he laughed as Edward and I both groaned before rolling our eyes. "See, you are so perfect for each other, you both think I'm crazy."

"Dude, most of Manhattan thinks you are crazy. Bella can't go more than three hours without knowing how Hayden is doing, so expect a call around ten," said Edward as I smacked him on the shoulder. The downfall was that he was right. I was having a hard time being separated from him for any length of time, so I knew going back to work was going to be rough when the time came around.

Edward took me to dinner at the same Italian restaurant we had ate at when we had gotten back together in our freshman year of college. Not much had changed, although his parents were no longer investors in the place anymore. We enjoyed our dinner and chatted happily, though I quickly realized that most of our conversation centered on Hayden. He barely did anything these days, but each new thing was exciting for us regardless.

"So, I got you something. Consider it a late Christmas gift," Edward stated as he pushed a tiny box along the table as we waited for our dessert of Turtle Cheesecake to arrive.

"You already got me more than enough Edward," I said nervously as my fingers ran along the ribbon and bow holding the box closed.

"Just open it. I promise it's nothing too fancy," he explained while I nodded my head and pulled the ribbon, opening the box tentatively. Of course, as if on cue, I began to cry as I pulled out the tiny 'H' shaped charm that was for my bracelet. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," I said genuinely as I wiped the tears from my cheek and extended my wrist to him. "Can you put it on?" I rarely went anywhere without my charm bracelet on and more often than not, I found myself aimlessly fingering it throughout the day, as though it was a source of calm for me. Once the charm was on, Edward kissed my hand sweetly and then our dessert was delivered, effectively halting our special moment for the time being.

After dinner, Edward drove us to the Roosevelt Hotel and when he valet parked the car, I couldn't help but grow nervous. Edward had already checked in earlier in the day, admitting to me that he took the afternoon off of work so that he could plan all of this for me. As we stood in the elevator, I was overwhelmed with reminders of Vienna. God, how I loved Vienna.

_When my hands removed themselves from Edwards's hair, I started trailing my hands down his shoulders to his chest, where I began to unbutton his shirt. My hands immediately started sliding up and down his taut chest as he continued to lavish attention on my breasts. When I tossed my head back slowly in pleasure, Edward reached his hand down between us and lifted my short skirt up slowly, finding me wet and eager for him before he began rubbing my clit tenderly. This time, I threw my entire body forward and grabbed onto the thick tree behind Edward for support, as I moaned his name quietly. Each sound from my mouth seemed to spur Edward on more and he slipped two fingers inside me and began pumping his fingers in slowly, making me shudder in pleasure._

_I was completely ready for him and I could clearly tell that Edward wanted nothing more than to be inside of me, so when he slipped his fingers from my aching pussy and pulled back, I was disappointed. "What's wrong?" I questioned as Edward grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly. My nerves began to get the better of me and I began to worry that he didn't want me and that perhaps I had been misreading the signals he had been giving me. No, that was an impossibility. He wanted me… I knew he did._

"_I can't fuck you with pants on Bella," he said with a small laugh as my sadness immediately disappeared from my face and I was overcome with hunger. Edward swiftly unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants before he lifted his body from the ground for a moment. He shimmied his pants and boxers down till his cock sprung free between us and my eyes lit up with desire as I gaped at his hard shaft. I stifled a laugh as Edward fumbled with a condom before covering his cock and I found myself wishing he had one several times during the past few weeks. He looked at me with a curious expression, as though he was waiting for my approval, but I didn't say anything._

_Instead, I slid my body closer to Edwards' and propped myself up a bit, so that I could position myself over his aching cock. I felt overwhelmed as I slowly lowered myself onto his and I threw my head back in ecstasy. I heard Edward's head hit the back of the tree as he let out a low groan. I leaned forward and as our foreheads met and we gazed at each other lovingly, I began to slowly force myself up and down on his thick length._

"You seem somewhere else hon. Do you want to call home?" asked Edward as I shook my head in the negative and we stepped out and began walking down the hallway.

"I was in Vienna," I admitted as we stopped in front of our room and Edward fumbled with the key, cursing the stupid electronic key card. "I was just remembering our first time together."

"Fuck, I loved Vienna," Edward said with a grunt as he finally opened the door, pushing it with his hip slightly as he then held the door open for me to walk in. I let out a small gasp, although I shouldn't have been surprised at the opulence of the room. There were rose petals covering the bed and the candles lit around the room. "I love you more than Vienna though."

"I love you too baby," I said sweetly as I turned around and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck, kissing his lips lightly as I felt his hands trail across my back and up to my shoulders. "I'm going to go freshen up in the bathroom. Why don't you call home and make sure Emmett hasn't burned down the kitchen or gotten Hayden a tattoo?" I felt Edward nod his head slowly against my lips before I took a step back and went into the huge bathroom.

I rested my hands against the counter and took a deep breath, because I was standing there trying to convince myself to go back into the room to have sex with my husband, which was fucked up. I was on the verge of giving myself a pep talk when I remembered how much I wanted him. How much I wanted this. I unzipped my dress and hung it on the back of the door and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, for a woman who just had a baby two months earlier, I looked alright. Sure, I had walked for hours on the treadmill some days and we were eating healthier at home, but it was paying off. I quickly brushed my teeth with my own toothbrush that Edward had brought from home and put on a little perfume, deciding to bite the bullet, so to speak.

As I walked out of the bathroom, Edward had his back to me and was resting his cell phone on the table. He pulled his suit jacket off and went over to hang it up in the small closet, not yet noticing the fact that I was in the room and almost dressed scantily.

"Holy shit," he said loudly as he turned around and finally noticed me. "You look... just… fuck."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said huskily as I strode towards him and tugged on his loosened tie, pulling his face down slightly so that I could kiss him passionately. I had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but I hoped to hell it stayed for a while.

"God yes it was a compliment. You look good enough to eat." Edward took a step back from me and began to pull his tie off as his eyes roamed my body greedily. I would definitely need to thank Rosalie for this push in the right direction. I felt slightly out of place in the black corset and garter number that she had bought me for Christmas, but the look on Edward's face right now was definitely worth it. "If I had known that was under your dress all night, we never would have made it out of the car without me mauling you."

"Well now you tell me," I said with a mock pout as Edward closed the distance between us, his hands grabbing my ass firmly as he pulled me against his straining erection.

"By the way, don't ever think that I don't want you. I'll want you until the day I die Bella," he admitted seriously as he lifted my chin up and gazed directly into my eyes. "Only you Bella." Those words literally melted me, as I reached up and my hand grazed Edward's shoulder, where his tattoo bearing those words laid and his hand moved along my hip, mimicking my actions. I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to force him onto the bed and have my way with him, but from the look in his eyes, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

It seemed like ages before we actually reached the bed but as we moved, my hands fumbled to undress him. Between the buttons on his dress shirt, the buckle on his belt and the zipper on his pants, I came off like a teenager about to have sex for the first time. Hell, even our first time in Vienna wasn't this awkward. "Are you alright?" Edward asked as my knees hit the back of the bed and he stood before me, completely naked.

"Yeah," I choked out. "I'm just nervous for some reason."

"Bella just let me love you. You deserve nothing less than my absolute devotion," he said fiercely as he grabbed me by the waist and lifted me onto the bed. My heart beat was practically ringing in my ears as Edward undid each clasp on the garters and slowly removed them from me. His hands moved gently along my thighs, exciting me as he then leaned forward and began to kiss my chest reverently. Each stroke of his hands against my creamy skin felt like the burn from a fire, and I couldn't get enough. He wasn't even doing anything too sexual to me, but it was the fact that we were being intimate and exploring each other again that was driving me to the brink. When he finally pulled my panties down my legs and spread my thighs, his lips making contact with my heat. I was done for.

"Jesus Fuck, Jesus Fuck, Jesus Fuck," I cursed out a little too loudly as Edward looked up at me, his lips now nibbling at my clit, but his eyes focused on mine. "So fucking good… more… please," I begged him as he murmured lowly, causing me to groan in pleasure. His lips and fingers were everywhere and as I neared my release, my mind kept drifting back to other times where he had pleased me. In Europe, in California, in my bedroom back in Forks. Hell, we even did it once on Rosalie & Emmett's bed, shortly after they moved into their first apartment together. Each time was different, but each time was pure fucking ecstasy.

As I bucked my hips up slightly, Edward thrust two fingers into me and I was officially done for, coming undone around his fingers as he lapped up every single drop. "Jesus," I growled out as Edward began kissing his way down my thigh towards my toes, biting and nibbling every few seconds, making me grab the covers on the bed.

"Bella," I heard him mutter as I opened my eyes and saw Edward hovering above me. His lips descended onto mine and my finger nails began digging into his back as he lowered himself onto me, our chests pressed together as I felt his throbbing cock against my wet folds. "I need you."

"God, I need you so fucking much baby," I said forcefully as we separated and quickly repositioned ourselves in the center of the bed. Edward had me on my back, but as I motioned with my fingers for him to come closer to my face, I was quick to wrap my hand around his hard cock.

"Oh fuck Bella," he said firmly as he grabbed the head board with his strong hands. It had been my intention to just kiss him passionately, but when my eyes caught a vision of his cock, I had to have him. I slid my body lower on the bed and closer to his groin as I moved my hand slowly around his length before I slipped my tongue out and licked the head of him slowly. "Jesus Fuck."

I took my time lavishing attention on him, both with my hand and my mouth and felt empowered as I took him into my mouth, licking him furiously as I then dug my hands into his ass and plunged my mouth down on his length as far as I could go. I could hear his fist hitting the wall fiercely as I took him into my throat and I couldn't help but be glad that the wall led into the closet and not to another room where he may be waking up their inhabitants.

"Stop Bella… please," Edward choked out as I pulled back and he looked down at me, his eyes full of lust. "I need to be in you when I come. Please?" I simply nodded my head and in mere moments, Edward was back between my legs, repositioning himself at my wet folds. I reminded him that I was back on birth control and not taking any other meds, causing both of us to laugh slightly. As much as I was frustrated for how I got pregnant, I didn't regret one second of it. Hayden was the best thing to happen to me, just like his father.

We kissed for several more minutes and when I felt Edward's length against me, I couldn't help myself. I wrapped my legs around his waist, still in my high heels, and pulled him against me. He slipped in with a bit of resistance, but it didn't take long for us to find out groove. Edward pulled at the corset, sliding it down until my breasts were free and he began lavishing them with attention, massaging them and nibbling on my nipples as he thrust inside of me.

"So perfect," Edward said before he pulled one of my nipples into his mouth and I groaned loudly as he pushed deeper. I was nearing my release again when Edward pulled back and sat back on his haunches, his cock still buried inside of me. He gave me a sneaky grin before grabbing my ankles and lifting them onto his shoulders. He pulled out of me slowly, before fucking me hard, his dick now in a perfect position against my g-spot, which made me scream in pleasure.

We built up a good rhythm as my hands held onto the top of the headboard and he continued fucking me senseless. I had no regrets for the fact that we had started out awkward and had been distant with each other sexually until now. It was completely worth it because it brought me here, beneath the love of my life, screaming out his name as I came undone around his cock.

"I'm coming," shouted out Edward a moment later as he thrust inside me again and I let my legs slip off his shoulders, his warmth filling me and making me whole again. "God, I missed you so much. I missed us."

"We never went anywhere Edward," I said honestly as he pulled out and lay down on the bed beside me. I grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and pulled it over us as I curled into his side. "We just had more important things to take care of."

"Speaking of the little dude, when I called home, Emmett insisted that everything was fine," stated Edward as I kissed his chin and rested my head on his chest.

"I trust them," I said genuinely as Edward's hand rested on my lower back and he pulled me closer to him. We lay together quietly, our breathing slowing as we fell into an easy sleep. It was honestly one of the best night's sleep I had had since Hayden was born, until Edward woke me up at three in the morning for a repeat; not that I was complaining.

When we finally got home the next morning, both of us eager to get back to our son, it was just after eleven and we found Emmett in the living room, looking like death. "Are those my clothes?" questioned Edward as we rested our bags by the couch and we both noticed that Emmett was dressed in Edward's favorite t-shirt and a pair of old track pants.

"As a matter of fact they are. At two in the morning after feeding and burping your son, he peed all over me. It was like an errant fire hose and no matter what I did, I couldn't make it stop," Emmett said, sounding extremely displeased. I had to let out a small giggle, because this had been one of Edward's greatest fears when changing Hayden, but he had yet to have a surprise like Emmett.

Rosalie came into the room a moment later, holding Hayden firmly in her arms. She was eager to hand him over to me and give up the babysitting duties for the night. "Hayden was awake almost all night, so we are going home now, to catch up on the sleep we never got. I'm not envious of you two anymore. He was just fed and changed. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he fell asleep soon," she explained with a small smirk. Apparently the plan to dissuade Emmett from wanting kids in the very near future was working to her benefit.

"I love him, he's a great kid, but don't ask us to babysit overnight for you until he's like 10," stated Emmett as he grabbed his coat from the rack by the door and slipped it on before helping Rosalie with hers. "Don't call us, we'll call you," he added as he walked out of the house towards his car, as Edward and I broke out into laughter.

"Looks like Rosalie's plan worked a little too perfectly." I looked down at Hayden and noticed he was on the verge of falling asleep in my arms. "Why don't you go get comfortable in our room and I'll be in there as soon as Hayden is asleep."

"Really?" asked Edward, the excitement obvious in his voice.

"Yes really. We have some lost time to make up for."


	37. Orgasmtown to the Dark

**A/N: This note will be short and sweet. Thanks to MaggieMay14 for beta'ing this bitch so quickly, so that I could post before NM. Thanks to Risbee for not letting me fly off the handle when I thought I had lost the file about five minutes ago.**

**We're winding down, with 2 chapters and an epilogue left to go, so I hope you continue to enjoy.**

**I don't own Twilight, but I am getting my H1N1 shot a few hours before I see NM. Wish me luck!**

**BPOV**

I rubbed my hand up and down my face, hoping it would drown out the commotion surrounding me, but no luck. Alice was talking away animatedly about color schemes, flower arrangements and I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Isn't this what we went through when Rosalie announced her engagement?

"Bella, are you even paying attention?" called out Esme as I turned my head around slowly, trying to come to terms with their conversation. "You and Edward finally picked a date, so let's get all of this initial planning out of the way. I was thinking you guys could get married at Sacred Heart, just like Rosalie and Emmett." I released a small groan at the prospect of an already married woman getting married in a church, and even wondered for a moment if it was sacrilegious.

"Edward and I discussed it, and we've opted against the church Esme," I said stoically as she looked at me and raised her eye brows, apparently surprised by my statement. "Since we've decided to get married on our one year anniversary in July, we want to just have a simple wedding."

"Define simple?" asked Alice as her head popped up from the bridal magazine she was sorting through, like she was a prairie dog. The look on her face was just as priceless, because she looked downright disturbed at the prospect of something relaxed, but unfortunately for her, that was exactly what Edward and I had decided upon. It was OUR wedding after all.

"Simple, which for my wedding it means no $4,000 vintage dress, no flowers being flown in from the Netherlands, and no six-tiered cake that none of the guests will want to eat anyways because the icing looks plastic and inedible," I replied as Rosalie looked at me suspiciously. "Yes, I was referring to your cake Rose."

"Why the hell are you having this second ceremony if we have to skip all the good parts?" she asked as I turned my head slightly and took a sip of my water. If I was being honest with myself, I wondered the exact same thing.

"Our family deserves to be able to celebrate the love Edward and I share. Who cares if we do it in the gardens at the Cullen house, or ask for donations to charity instead of gifts, Edward and I just want to announce to the world, not just Las Vegas, that we are husband and wife. You guys can go all out for Alice's wedding next year now that Jasper has finally proposed."

The conversation was quick to change to Alice's wedding next June and how she and Jasper had already reserved the Central Park Boathouse. Of course, I was privy to the fact that she had actually reserved her reception site over a year prior, under the assumption that he would propose eventually. I wouldn't have wanted to be Jasper if he hadn't proposed and the date that she had chosen drew near.

Alice, being the eternal organizer that she was, already had fabric swatches for her bridesmaid dresses, her florist was chosen and the DJ was booked. She was working on selecting a photographer, and was considering one of the guys who I worked with down at the Museum, who was a photographer on the side. Having seen his work before, I knew that if Marco took the photos, she would be more than pleased with the outcome. Plus, when I did go back to work in two months, I wasn't looking forward to listening to him bitch and moan if she didn't pick him.

"Bella, did you choose a florist?" asked Esme casually as I shook my head 'no'. "I know a great guy in Boston, who will do everything for you. Just let me know how many bouquets, centerpieces, pew decorations and more that you will need."

"I need one bouquet."

"That's it?" Rosalie added, sounding incredulous.

"Uh yeah. I only had one the first time around and I only need one now. What is it about small, simple wedding that you girls aren't getting?"

"You're marrying a Cullen. They never do anything small or simple," she emphasized as I rolled my eyes and held my hand up in front of their face, showcasing the two rings on my left hand.

"I'm already married to a Cullen. Our first wedding was as small and as simple as you could get. I think my husband is breaking the mold for all Cullen men of the future," I added with a small laugh as Esme nodded her head and seemed to bend to my will somewhat. I was certain there would be more discussions about making things more elaborate, but I was standing my ground.

We continued to talk about Alice's wedding, and I was relieved that the pressure off of me for a little while. The waiter at the small Italian restaurant we were eating lunch at came to our table a moment later, and I had him refresh my drink. We had all finished eating and Esme was contemplating ordering some gelato when my cell phone buzzed in my purse with a text message from Edward.

_I seriously think H might roll over today –E_

_He's three months old and almost completely immobile –B_

_Maybe he'll talk then. I'm expecting something epic from our son –E_

_If he talks, I hope he says 'you're nuts Daddy' -B_

I let out a small laugh and then shoved my phone back into my purse as Esme looked at me curiously. "Is everything all right at home?" The girls and I had met at the restaurant and after our wedding planning lunch, we were supposed to head back to the house to see Edward and Hayden.

"Yeah everything is just fine. I think Edward is a little anxious for Hayden to do something other than suck on his hands and go poop," I said as I let out a giggle and they all looked at me like I was on fire or something. "You'll have your days before you know it," I said fiercely as I pointed towards Rosalie and then Alice with my eyes narrowed.

"Not anytime soon," snickered Rosalie knowingly. "Ever since we babysat for you, Emmett hasn't even mentioned once having a kid. So thank you for that."

"You're welcome," I said sarcastically as the waiter came with my drink and Esme decided against the gelato and requested the bill. When it came a few moments later, all of our hands flew out to pay for it, but as per usual, Esme was the first to whip out her black American Express card and the rest of us just gave up, not even bothering to fight about it. Had it been just Alice, Rosalie and I, we would have played rock, paper scissors until the death over that bill. We were quick to leave the restaurant, and all of us piled into the Volvo and headed back to the house. When we walked in front the door, Edward was holding Hayden in his arms trying to calm him, but he seemed inconsolable.

"What happened? Did you tell him you weren't really his daddy?" asked Rosalie as I walked towards Edward and Hayden, taking the baby from his arms, as I heard him let out a huge sigh of relief. Hayden began rooting around my chest, so I took him into the living room and got comfortable in one of the recliners, tossing a receiving blanket over myself to show a little decorum before my son went to town on me. The moment my shirt was undone, he was desperate to latch on and I stroked his fine hair gently as the girls came in a moment later, followed by Edward who was clutching a beer.

"Little early don't you think?" I asked with a quirked eye brow as Edward sunk down on the couch beside his mother, who looked at him disapprovingly.

"It's five o'clock somewhere right?" he joked as I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, Hayden here was a handful the moment he woke up from his power nap. I swear he hates my guts when he wakes up. He's always the crankiest then."

"He cries for me too when he wakes up hon," I said soothingly as Alice and Rosalie began flipping through Modern Bride again, trying to discuss bridesmaid gowns for Alice's wedding. While Hayden worked on his lunch, Edward sat there and listened as his mother tried to convince him to get married in a church. Of course Edward just scoffed at the suggestion.

"What did Bella tell you she wanted?" he asked Esme as she bent her head slightly, as though she was a child about to be chastised for stealing cookies.

"The garden in the backyard at the Boston house," said Esme quietly as I watched Edward wink at me before he nodded his head at his mother.

"We don't ask that much of you do we? We have yet to beg you to babysit, we've never borrowed copious amounts of money from you and if we're being brutally honest, hell we rarely call each other unless you are coming to town or vice versa," said Edward, his serious voice coming out as his mother looked at him in surprise. I still thought she viewed Edward as the dipshit spoiled brat kid that left for Europe when he was eighteen, but he was far from that now. Sure, we may be young, but we were far from spoiled or impulsive these days. "If Bella wants to get married in your garden in Boston, then that is what we are going to do. Fuck, if Bella wants geisha's riding elephants around the property, I'll get them for her."

"Thanks baby, but please don't put any ideas into her head," I said honestly as Alice looked up from her book.

"What's wrong with a theme wedding?" she questioned as I let out a large laugh and Hayden unlatched himself and began to root around again. I repositioned him to my other breast and once he was settled and happily feeding again, I looked at Alice with a huge grin.

"I had a frickin Vegas wedding the first time around, so don't even consider a theme wedding for us. This wedding will be simple. There will be flowers, a slab cake and my dad is going to walk me down the aisle. Then my husband and I are going to dance and head to a hotel room for the night, where we will do things to each other that are considered illegal in several states and small countries." I looked up from my rant and saw Esme, Rosalie and Alice all glaring at me, their mouths hung open in shock. Even Edward was a bit surprised, but his mouth formed into a small smirk before he winked at me knowingly.

"That's my wife Bella and since she had our son three months ago, she seems to have lost all of her internal filter," laughed Edward as I realized what I had just said and felt mortified. Why the fuck did I have to have word vomit in front of my mother in law.

"Okay, that was fucking epic Bella. Who is babysitting Hayden that night by the way?" asked Rosalie as she shook her head in the negative, hoping that I wasn't going to say her.

"My parents have offered to take Hayden for us. Then a few days after the wedding, Edward and I are going to take Hayden to London for a few days, just the three of us. A mini-honeymoon I suppose," I explained to them as all three of them looked at me, the relief clear on their faces. "Don't worry ladies, I would have rather boarded Hayden at a kennel then leave him with any of you gals."

"You are kidding right?" asked Esme as she looked at me with disappointment in her eyes.

"Of course I'm kidding. I'm sure your housekeeper would do an excellent job of looking after Hayden," I laughed as Edward joined in and Esme continued to glare at us. Hayden was the one to break the tension in the room as he burped all on his own and then began to fidget as I adjusted myself and patted his back, burping him again.

When I was done, Esme was quick to throw out her hands, desperate to hold her grandson and I quickly passed him off to her before excusing myself and heading upstairs to get changed into something more comfortable. As I strolled out of the closet, with my yoga pants on and clutching Edward's favorite Boston Red Sox shirt in my hand, I was surprised to see him standing there.

"I need us time tonight," he said slyly as he came up behind me and held onto my hips, rolling his groin against my ass. "Do you think that's a possibility?"

"Everything is a possibility Edward," I said with a small grin. "Even your mother one day babysitting Hayden is a possibility."

**EPOV**

I couldn't wait for my sister, sister in law and my mother to leave. As much as I loved them, all I wanted was some time alone with my wife. Ever since Bella and I had reintroduced sex back into our lives, it was a weekly event, but I couldn't help it if I wanted more. It was almost like we had a schedule and we did it like clockwork on Saturday nights after Hayden went to bed. I missed being able to have my way with her whenever I wanted.

After we put Hayden into his crib, and made sure he was sound asleep, I wrapped my fingers around Bella's wrist and basically pulled her towards our bedroom, not wanting her to get away from me. I turned on the baby monitor on the dresser and then closed the door firmly as I watched her walk across the room. She was about to turn on the bedside lamp when the room went completely dark.

"What the hell happened?" Bella said anxiously as I turned away from her and looked out the window.

"The whole street is out," I said as the words brought back memories of our time in Copenhagen.

_I looked outside and a bright flash of lightning lit up the room. Unfortunately, without the lightning, the room was pitch black. "Stay here and I'll go see if Henrik has some candles." I said as I hopped effortlessly from the bed and took my time walking to the door, making sure I didn't trip on anything. When I returned to the room, I had an arsenal of supplies from the guy who owned the hostel._

"_Welcome Back," she said eagerly, as I squinted through the darkness to see her, with no luck._

"_Henrik says this happens all the time and we shouldn't expect the power to be back on until the morning," I said as I laid everything onto the coffee table and immediately lit the largest candle and brought it over to where Bella was. As I got closer, she became awash in the light from the candle and looked so fucking hot. "This would be romantic, if it didn't suck."_

"_How does this suck?" she asked curiously as I placed the candle on the bedside table next to her. "I actually have an idea to keep us occupied."_

"_Oh really?" I said with a grin, my interest suddenly piqued. "Does it involve me getting to have sex with you?"_

"_No," she said with a heavy laugh. "Do you still want to play?" There was no hesitation on my part and I was on the bed beside her within seconds. "Okay, so I know it's already dark, but I want you to close your eyes. We have one minute to do something to the other person and then we switch. No matter what that person is doing, you cannot stop them or help them in any way. Shut your eyes and I'll show you."_

_I excitedly closed my eyes and as I felt Bella crawl behind me and softly massage my shoulders, reliving some of my obvious tension. Once she had finished, Bella went back to her seat and I opened my eyes, a smile wide on my face._

"_My turn," I said as I watched Bella tentatively close her eyes, not quite sure what I had planned to do to her, but then again, that was the point of the game. She tightened her eyes so they were securely closed and her breathing hitched as she felt me grab her left hand and start running my fingers gracefully along her palm and then I began stroking her fingers._

"_Time's up," she said sweetly as I watched her pull her hand away from mine reluctantly and open her eyes. I closed mine immediately, eagerly awaiting her next move. It took a moment, but before I knew it, Bella's soft lips were pressing against mine, moving ever so slowly and I began to smile just as she pulled away. Damn time limit._

_As Bella closed her eyes this time, I adjusted my body, bringing me closer to her. She shuddered as she felt my warm breath on her neck and suddenly I was sucking her neck, very hard, into my mouth biting her every so often in a desperate need to mark her. _

"_Now everyone knows your mine," I said with a small laugh. "If it's not dark enough tomorrow I might need to work on it a bit more."_

"_You're an idiot," said Bella with an obvious groan. "I'm yours, for at least six and a half more weeks. No matter how many guys approach me, I'm yours. Okay, so stop being so jealous. Do I need to start singing some Jason Mraz so you'll get the hint? I'm yours Edward."_

"_It's hard not to Bella. You're gorgeous, and if I wasn't with you, I'd be acting and thinking the same way all the other guys are. I promise to try and tone it down though, okay?" I asked genuinely, not wanting her to hear the tension in my voice. The last thing I wanted to deal with was my jealous streak, but I couldn't help it where she was concerned._

"_Alright then. It's my turn now, so close your eyes again." I did as she told me, my hands fidgeted nervously as I waited for her to do something… anything. She leaned down and began nibbling on my ear, causing me to moan in pleasure. Fuck, she was good._

"_Mmm that was nice," I said as I began to contemplate my next move. Bella was getting bolder, so it was obvious I should too. Bella closed her eyes in anticipation and I moved my behind her neck and pulled her towards me. I kissed her, but it wasn't as chaste as the kiss we shared earlier. I forced her mouth open with my tongue and when her tongue reached out for me, I started sucking on it forcefully. I found myself almost unable to stay within the one minute time constraints and really wished I didn't have to, until Bella pulled away._

"Hello?" called Bella as I turned from the window, my head still swimming with thoughts of us in Europe. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a power outage. I'm sure there is a good reason for it, but I'm going to go get some candles just to be safe," I said as I began to walk out of the room and down the hallway. I cracked the door open to Hayden's room a little bit so that we could hear him without the monitor and then grabbed some candles from the linen closet.

When I walked back into the room, Bella was sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed waiting for me. "You know this totally reminds me of Copenhagen. Did you get those candles from Henrik?" I started laughing, as I lit the first candle and brought it over to the nightstand. Each thing I was doing reminded me more and more of Europe.

"Are we going to play your one minute game?" I asked as I turned back to the dresser and lit another candle. When I came back towards the bed, resting the second candle on my side of the bed, I looked over at Bella and was shocked to see her pulling her shirt off and throwing it towards the closet.

"I was hoping you could last much longer than a minute Edward," she said seductively as I quirked my eye brow and almost lunged at her as I crawled on the bed, pushing her down against the mattress as I moved to hover my body over hers.

"I think you know damned well Mrs. Cullen that I can last longer than a minute," I said with a small growl as I grabbed the waistband of her pants and tugged them down quickly, taking her panties with them as I tossed them down beside the bed and repositioned myself between her legs. I moved my hand slowly up the inside of her thigh; desperately wanting to savor the moment since I had no idea when the hell we would get this chance again.

"Edward," she breathed slowly as my lips found purchase against her neck and I began sucking furiously, very much like the first time I gave her a hickey almost five years prior. My hands worked their way down her almost completely naked body; the only thing between us was her bra which I knew she was self conscious about removing, so I didn't pressure her. I listened to her soft moans, letting them spur me on as I sat back onto my knees and yanked my shirt off over my head.

"Did you need something love?" I asked in reply as Bella began nodding her head slowly.

"Just you," she said as her hands worked their way up my sides to my shoulder where she rubbed my tattoo slowly and I leaned forward again, my lips pressing themselves against her collarbone as I kissed her reverently. Some days, as I watched her with Hayden, I still couldn't believe she was mine. All mine.

We moved slowly and silently in perfect rhythm, my hands skimming over her body as I memorized each line and curve of her. When I spread her legs open and began lapping eagerly at her wetness, her moans and cries made my cock harder than ever before, spurring me on. I plunged two fingers inside of her wet folds and watched in awe as her back arched off of the bed and she cried out in pleasure.

"Jesus Fuck, Edward," she cursed out as I began sucking at her clit, my fingers pushing in and out of her, curling inside of her as I willed her to come for me. God, how I wanted to watch her as she came unraveled around my hand. She bit down on her lip and twisted her body slightly as she called out my name, over and over again. I couldn't help but smile as though she was saying the sweetest words I had ever heard.

When I kneeled back to look at her, Bella was quick to sit up and grab my face in her hands, kissing me passionately as she tasted herself on my lips and in my mouth. Our tongues melded together as I pressed my weight against her, moving her till her back was against the bed again. I felt Bella's hands on the waistband of my pants, fumbling desperately as she tried to pull them from me. I helped her tug them down, my underwear going with the pants, as Bella then finished removing them by sliding her feet along my legs, pushing them away from me.

"I need you Edward," Bella said breathily as I nodded my head and repositioned myself between her legs. I was about to thrust my straining cock inside of her warmth when she moved from beneath me and pushed me down onto the bed, letting me roll onto my pack. "I want to ride you."

"Oh fuck," I growled out as Bella's hand wrapped around my length and she began stroking me before she began to climb onto my lap, placing her heat directly above me. I grabbed her hips tightly in my hands and pushed her down onto me, groaning in pleasure as I felt her wrapped around me again. It felt like it had been forever since the last time I had felt her like this.

After a few minutes, Bella grasped the headboard in her hands as she bent her chest over me, groaning and yelling as I continued to thrust into her at a decent pace, my release imminent as I took one hand and grasped her ass tightly, most likely leaving marks from my fingers in the light of day. "So much better than Denmark, Edward," Bella cried out as her back arched and she came undone around my cock.

I thrust inside of her three more times before finding my own release and wrapping my arms around Bella, pulling her down against my chest as I kissed her passionately. "I am the luckiest fucker alive," I said genuinely as Bella smiled sweetly at me and nuzzled her head into my neck.

As if on cue, Hayden started wailing from his bedroom and I was quick to get up and search around in the candlelight to pull on a pair of clean boxers from my dresser, as I watched Bella lay down on the bed, catching her breathe. I was about to step out of the room when I grabbed the door frame and turned back around to face my gorgeous wife. "Don't move, baby. I'm not done with you tonight."


	38. The Dark to the Light

**A/N: Two updates in one day? Yes, I am clinically insane. So much so, that I am just gonna say ... enjoy the chapter and read the second note at the bottom of the chapter.**

**I don't own Twilight, I do have some fuckawesome friends who encourage me more than they should. Love you guys. **

**EPOV**

"Bella, did we pack the diapers?" I yelled out from the nursery as I struggled to find one to put on Hayden as I changed him. I had spent a few moments looking high and low, to no avail. Why was it that when it rained, it poured?

"Yeah, they are in the baby bag on our bed."

"Come on little guy, we're getting changed in mommy and daddy's room," I said to Hayden as I picked him up off of the change table and carried him into our room. I laid him down on the bed and quickly unsnapped his onesie and set to work. Bella was currently downstairs on the phone, coordinating the last minute details for our vow renewal this weekend.

Bella's parents had flown into New York City last weekend and spent most of the week sightseeing and spending time with Hayden, which was awesome in my opinion. Charlie took to Hayden like a duck to water, and even though Renee was a little hesitant because she hadn't held a small child in so long, she was soon at ease like the rest of us. Of course, she refused to change his diapers.

It had been nice to have her parents around for the past few days, because since Bella had gone back to work in May and with their help, this was the first time where we didn't seem frazzled. Between work, daycare, keeping ourselves sane and planning this wedding thing, we were both on edge. Thank god Hayden was such a happy little baby that he made things easier for us, not harder.

He was seven months old and had been sleeping through the night for the past few months, which made Bella and me ecstatic the first night it had happened, although she had freaked a little bit. When Bella woke up and realized she had gotten a full night sleep that was unencumbered by our son, she literally ran into the room to make sure he was still breathing. Of course, being the little trooper that he was, Hayden was lying in his bed on his back, pulling at the feet on his sleeper and trying to get them into his mouth.

"Edward, are you coming?" shouted Renee at the top of her lungs as I finished with Hayden's diaper and began to get him redressed into his adorable little overalls. Yes, I said adorable. Shoot me. I have to admit, there is something about the world's tiniest pair of overalls that turns me into mush.

"I'll be right down," I called back as I grabbed the baby bag and swung it over my shoulder before picking Hayden up off the bed. He was smiling brightly at me and I couldn't help but kiss his rosy red cheeks. "Okay buddy, we got a long car ride ahead of us with Grandma and Grandpa Swan in the car, so be on your best behaviour alright?"

Hayden let out a small coo and I headed downstairs and into the living room with him, hearing Bella argue with someone about flower arrangements on the phone as Charlie walked back in the house after putting all of the luggage into the Volvo.

"Are you ready to go little man?" Charlie asked as he held his arms out, eager to hold his grandson. I couldn't have been happier that Charlie got along so well with Hayden, and Bella and I were both happy when Hayden attempted to take his first steps with her parents present. Of course, he ended up falling on his butt and cried for ten minutes about it, but my resilient little guy tried again and again, which was the most important thing to me. At least he wouldn't give up on the things he really wanted.

Thinking about that brought me back to thoughts of Bella, who was currently cursing about white roses into the phone. "Are you new… seriously? Did they just hire you because my mother in law made these arrangements months ago, so the fact that you are telling me today, two days before my damned wedding, that my flowers didn't arrive just makes me curious about your complete lack of ability to do your damn job. Call some other fucking florists and figure it out," she screeched as we all stood back in shock and Renee lifted her hands over Hayden's tiny ears. Bella threw the cordless phone down on the couch and looked at all of us, surprised to see us standing there apparently.

"There's a problem with the flowers," she said calmly, a complete change in her demeanour from mere seconds ago.

"It will get fixed," I said sweetly as I walked towards her, wrapping my arms tight around her shoulders and kissing her temple. "We need to get going before we hit too much traffic. Mom said dinner would be ready by six and if we leave now, there will be just enough time to relax before we have to eat."

Even though this wedding was supposed to be casual and relaxed, we still ended up inviting over fifty guests to the house for the ceremony on Saturday. Several of my family members had been a little surprised to hear that Bella and I were getting remarried, but they didn't say anything snide about it, surprisingly. Ben and Angela were already in Boston for the week because of a conference for his work, so while he was locked in meetings, Angela toured the city and helped my mother with final arrangements. She also did her best to reassure Bella that everything was going to be fine, which made my life easier.

Bella got Hayden into his car seat, as I locked the house and Charlie and Renee got into the Volvo, Charlie sitting up front with me, with Bella and Renee in the back seat. As we drove away from the house, I couldn't help the feeling of elation that rolled over me. I was glad to be declaring my love for Bella in front of everyone, not that they didn't already know. I might as well have hired a skywriter for the past five years considering how often I had stated my love for her.

We had barely left the city and were travelling northeast on 15 when Charlie began fidgeting nervously in the seat beside me. "Is my driving making you anxious Charlie?" I questioned as he shook his head in the negative.

"Nope, I'm good."

"Are you sure?" I asked again, sensing that something was up with him and he was just not being forthright with me. I'd like to think that over the past few years I had managed to learn a lot about Charlie Swan. Of course, everything I thought I knew something, I was wrong. The man was an enigma wrapped in a police uniform. However right now, I knew something was up.

"Yeah… but I was kinda wondering something," he said calmly as I looked at him quickly before turning my eyes back to the road. God forbid I was caught not paying attention by my police chief father in law. "Are you and Bella going to have more kids?"

"Dad," Bella shouted loudly from the back seat, scaring Hayden so much he started to cry. Bella was quick to soothe him and he fell back into a peaceful sleep as I shook my head slowly, unsure of how to answer him.

"Eventually Charlie, but we are in no hurry you know, since we just got the house and are getting established in our careers and what not," I stated emphatically as I heard him concur from beside me.

"We just think you shouldn't wait too long," he replied, as I heard Bella gasp from the backseat.

"Are you seriously sitting there encouraging me to have sex with my husband so that you can have more grandchildren?" she asked as I heard him groan a little and then open the window a bit, as though it was suddenly stuffy in the car. "Well, you mentioned it Dad."

"Well, I didn't want to discuss the specifics of it Bella," he stammered nervously as I my cheeks flushed. I couldn't believe there was a conversation about my sex life happening with my in-laws during a drive to my second wedding. This was all very surreal. "The reason I was asking was because your mother and I always wanted more children but there was always something holding us back. Work commitments, money, buying a house. It seemed like it was one hold up after another and when we finally decided we could handle another one, we weren't able to conceive."

Charlie actually seemed a little heartbroken as he spoke about the other children he so desperately wanted. I also knew Bella had wanted a little brother or sister, so I could sense she was equally upset. When I looked quickly to the backseat, she was wiping a tear from her eye as she held hands with her mother.

"Don't worry Dad, I promise you there will be more kids alright? Edward and I have already discussed it and we'd have a whole baseball team if we could," she said with a small laugh that was laced with sadness.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but we were hoping for three or four," I interjected as I heard Charlie and Renee both laugh gently, easing some of the tension in the car. "Don't worry though Charlie, I promise to impregnate your daughter as often as she will let me."

"Edward," Bella scolded as I felt her smack me against the shoulder, but I just laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

The rest of the drive was slightly awkward as Charlie and Renee both began peppering Bella and I with baby name suggestions for our future children. We weren't even contemplating having another one at this stage of the game, but they were already encouraging girls' names like Emily, Melissa and even Renee, if you could believe that. Bella assured them that the name would be something with meaning to Bella and I, just like Hayden's name.

I couldn't have been more relieved to arrive at my parents' house later that afternoon and get out of the car with the 'baby brigade' as I began to call them. Hayden was wide awake, having napped for most of the car ride to the house, so my mother was quick to grab him from us and feed him his bottle, now that he was taking a formula. Bella and I lugged our luggage up to my old bedroom, which was still the same as when I had left for college, and my father showed Renee and Charlie to a bedroom down the hall.

"You know, this room was like my prison when I returned from Europe all those years ago," I said honestly as I tossed my bag towards the closet that was now a storage room for my parents, not that they needed the space. I tossed my tired body down on my bed and suddenly felt like the 18 year old boy who came home from London feeling empty and alone, until Bella laid down beside me and wrapped her arms tight around me her head resting against my chest.

"Yeah, but our past mistakes made everything worthwhile Edward," she said sweetly while her hand moved up and down my chest reassuringly. "No matter what arguments we've had or petty squabbles, everything brought me to you and Hayden. I wouldn't change anything for the world. Well, I might have told you about Columbia sooner so I didn't have to stress so much, but otherwise, it was all good."

"Yeah, a quicker reveal about Columbia would have been nice," I laughed as she patted my chest. "But I know what you mean baby. Life is great just the way it is right now. Wanna start making more babies?"

"No," she shouted out as I wrapped my arms around her and flipped her so that I was hovering above her.

"Why not? Grandma has Hayden," I said as I began tickling her and Bella twisted and turned beneath my touch. "We have time now."

"Contrary to the thoughts of my parents, we have all the time in the world Edward. How about we just focus on getting married again?"

"Deal," I said with a grin as I leaned forward and sucked her bottom lip into my mouth, nibbling on it gently. I ground myself against her gently and her legs wrapped me, pushing me further against her. If it wasn't for the fact that we had a ton of clothes between us, this would have been very close to heaven.

"Oh fuck it, I need you now," she said breathily, as I began clawing frantically at her clothes, in my desperation to remove them. It had only been a few days since I had been with her last, but it felt much longer, since her parents' had been visiting.

**BPOV**

"Oh my god! I didn't see anything, I swear," declared Esme as Edward had just pulled my shirt off over my head when she walked in holding Hayden who was crying profusely.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" stammered Edward as he jumped off of me and the bed and I began putting my shirt back on. Edward grabbed Hayden, who was instantly soothed as Edward walked around the room, bouncing him gently.

"Seriously, you've been in the house a total of five minutes, how was I to know you two were going to um… whatever you were going to do," she said nervously as I rolled my eyes because I was just caught by my mother in law about to get it on with my husband. Could this have been more mortifying?

"What's going on in here?" said Emmett buoyantly as he walked into the room as though he had been invited. He gave Hayden some crazy faces before turning to look at me and pointing. "Hey Bell… your shirt is on inside out."

_Jesus fuck._

"Alright, can you guys give my wife and me a few minutes alone, please?" he said forcefully as Esme and Emmett wandered out of the room, leaving Hayden with us. As soon as the door was closed, I was pulling off my top and putting it back on properly, feeling like an idiot. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'll survive. Let's be thankful that it wasn't my mother or father, they probably would have encouraged the act because apparently they think we should be repopulating the world." I let out a small groan as Edward came to sit beside me on the bed. Hayden extended his little arms towards me and I happily took him, nuzzling him into my chest as Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder, instantly calming me.

"You do realize that there will come a day where we are doing it and Hayden walks into the room right?" Edward said with a nervous laugh.

"Not if I can help it."

"That's just one of life's little things hon. Like when Hayden peed on Emmett, it was bound to happen sometime. Of course, I am just relieved it happened to him and not me," he laughed as I rested my head on his shoulder. "Speaking of life's little things, now that you are dressed properly and we have clearly been cock-blocked, what do you say to going and partying with our families for the night?

"Meh," I joked as I shrugged my shoulders. "Is there another option?"

"We could hop the company jet to Vegas and elope?"

"Been there, done that," I joked as I stood up and Hayden began to tug on my hair slightly, which annoyed the hell out of me. He had such a fricking strong grip that it made me consider cutting my hair off on a daily basis. I pulled my hair free from his little fingers and Edward and I casually made our way out of the room and down to the patio outside where everyone else was gathered.

The rest of the night was very casual, which was a rarity for the Cullen's. My dad and Carlisle stood at the barbecue and grilled up steaks, burgers and chicken, while discussing world events while the rest of the men, including Hayden, sat in the living room and watched TV. Alice, Rosalie and Esme cornered me in the kitchen and began discussing the wedding that was less than forty eight hours away.

Esme informed me that she had called the florist we had booked and basically threatened to take away any business from the company or her charities' if they couldn't pull some sort of miracle and they promised perfection. Of course they would promise this to Esme, I thought to myself with a groan. Perhaps in instances like this, I should begin throwing the Cullen name around more often. Nah, I still don't think I could manage that.

The next two mornings, I was able to sleep in a little bit, and when I opened my eyes on Saturday, Edward and Hayden were no where to be found. I enjoyed the silence and went into the closet to check out my wedding gown, which was hanging in the closet after Alice had it pressed a few days earlier. I unzipped the garment bag and stared at my off the rack dress, which was satin with an overlay of crocheted lace and flower embellishments. It was simple enough for the garden at the Cullen's but fancy enough for a wedding. Alice and I had gone to a trunk sale in New York back in April and found it almost immediately, which was a shock to both of us.

When I walked back out of the closet, Alice was standing in the middle of the room looking at me with a wide grin. "Are you ready?"

"Alice, it's nine in the morning, the only thing I am ready for is a huge cup of coffee and a shower," I said genuinely as I started off towards the bathroom and she grabbed my arm fiercely. "What the hell? Are you seriously gonna bruise the bride before the wedding?"

"Oh put a cork in it Bella," she said emphatically as I raised my eye brows and Rosalie suddenly came into the room carrying a tray of pastries, followed by Renee who had coffee, and Esme who had mugs. "This is the closest thing you are getting to a bridal shower, so let us just enjoy it." I reluctantly nodded my head and sat down on the floor with some of my best friends and then Angela came into the room with Hayden, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sorry we're late, someone here needed a change of diaper," she announced as Hayden stretched his arms out and I took him happily. "The boys just left to go play golf."

"And the hair and makeup team I hired should be here in about an hour, so let's just enjoy the morning alright?" This was how the morning began, eating breakfast and chatting amiably about anything and everything that came to mind. Of course, the conversations we were having reminded me of when Edward and I decided to get married in Las Vegas, exactly one year prior.

"_Morning sweetheart," Edward called to me as he climbed into the bed after resting the tray on the nightstand. He moved closer to me and nuzzled into my neck as I rolled over slightly, the blanket moving from me to reveal my breasts to him. _

"_Hi. What time is it?" I asked as I stretched my hands over my head and I watched Edward fidget nervously in the bed._

"_It's around eight in the morning. I got us breakfast, so I hope you are hungry," he said genuinely as he nodded his head and then grasped my face in his hands; as he leaned down to kiss me. I was getting excited very quickly and before I knew it, I was moaning beneath Edward, my hands fumbling to pull his boxers down and free his obviously rock hard cock. He pulled away and grabbed the breakfast tray from the table, placing it in my lap after had I sat up and looked at him with disappointment in my eyes, but hunger in my stomach._

"_I'm actually famished, seeing as you gave me quiet the workout last night. Need to keep the peanut well fed," I said with a small laugh as Edward nodded his head and watched intently as I pulled the lid of my plate and I noticed the bracelet right away. "What the hell did you do Edward?"_

_I picked it up and looked at the new charms with a big smile on my face. "I just added a few things," he said softly as I leaned over and kissed him again. "The heart is for our engagement and I'll get the date engraved on it when we get back to New York and the…"_

"_The cup is for the peanut," I said, my eyes starting to tear up as my free hand moved over to my stomach and Edward reached over to touch me there as well. Our hands intertwined tenderly on my belly and I couldn't help but be grateful for everything that had happened in our lives. We had our share of troubles and hiccups, but it led us to each other and we were desperately in love, so why wait? "Let's go."_

"_Go where?" Edward asked as he moved to pull his hand back and I tightened my grip on him._

"_Go get married. Get the license, the dress, the suit… all that shit. Let's just do it," I blurted out as I tossed a raspberry into my mouth casually and Edward looked at me with wide eyes, disbelief coloring his face. Clearly, he thought I was on something for finally agreeing to get married in Vegas, but I didn't want to wait anymore? What was holding us back anyways?_

"_Bella, I didn't do this as a way to convince you to marry me; I know we will do it one day soon. I just wanted you to have permanent reminders of our life together," he admitted as I took a big bite of my waffle and cocked an eye brow at him in surprise._

"_Did you change your mind? I thought you wanted a quickie wedding and that was why you mentioned it the other day as we drove into the city? To be completely honest with you, the thought of being married before Peanut makes his or her way into this world is a pretty compelling reason for us to just do it. I might have had reservations about this before, but not anymore. I want you… forever," I said to him softly as I reached back over and took his hand in mine. "So what do you say Mr. Cullen… care to make an honest woman out of me?"_

"_You do realize if we do this we will be pissing our families off, especially Renee, Esme and Alice."_

"_Who cares? Shouldn't the wedding be about you and me, not them?" I retorted as Edward nodded his head in agreement with me. I was certain that when we did manage to get married, it would be a small ceremony probably in New York or Boston with just our families and closest friends. We could do small in Las Vegas. "We only have tonight Edward since we need to leave for Denver tomorrow. Are we doing this?"_

"_We're doing this. Let me call the concierge and see what they suggest… well after I kiss my future bride and eat my breakfast, of course."_

"Earth to Bella, what the heck are you thinking about?" asked Rosalie as she interrupted my thoughts and about the first wedding. "Are you already thinking about the honeymoon?"

"No actually, I'm not. I was thinking about Vegas when Edward and I first got married," I admitted reluctantly as I got the evil eye from almost everyone else in the room, with the exception of Hayden of course, who was trying to gnaw on a piece of waffle.

"Don't think we have forgiven you for that yet Bella," chided Angela as I let out a small groan and took a bite of the chocolate chip muffin in my hand. "You were a guest in my house just two days later and you never said anything about it. I'm still in shock that you got married in Vegas."

"Yeah, I know. Edward and I knew going into it that none of you would approve, so it's okay, I am prepared to face the wrath." The women all began asking me questions about the original wedding, which I was pretty excited to answer because it reminded me of that time, where Edward and I were a little more spontaneous and carefree. Of course, with Hayden in the picture, we weren't able to be so impulsive about things, but it was nice to know the real us was still there, even though we were now parents.

Shortly after we finished breakfast, the hair stylists arrived to work on all of us. Alice and Rosalie went first as the other women watched Hayden and I finally managed some peace and quiet in the shower. I took my time and tried to enjoy the silence, but it was quickly shattered when Alice began knocking loudly on the door to let me know there would be a drought if I didn't get out soon and that it was my time with the hair dressers.

What seemed like several hours later, I was finally being zipped up into my wedding dress, my hair cascading down my back in long curls and Hayden was in his Aunt Alice's arms, dressed in his tiny little suit, which matched Edward's perfectly. Even the ties were the exact same color.

"Charlie's got your bouquet and will be up in a minute. I think he's having a heart to heart with Edward," laughed Alice as Hayden pulled the end of his tie up into his mouth and Alice pulled it away with another laugh.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack sweetheart. Apparently Charlie is unaware that Edward has already stolen your virtue and knocked you up out of wedlock." Not two seconds later, my father was walking through the door holding my blue hydrangea and white rose bouquet. He looked positively dapper in his suit and was grinning from ear to ear, which I hadn't seen Charlie do unless he was playing with Hayden.

"You ready to go Bells?" he asked genuinely as he handed me my flowers and Alice excused herself to take Hayden down to the back yard. "Everyone is waiting for you."

I nodded my head out my father before I took a second to enjoy the day. I looked out of Edward's bedroom window, which overlooked the gardens and sure enough, there he stood beside Emmett talking about something as his family milled about the yard, waiting for the ceremony to begin. He looked so handsome standing there and his smile grew even bigger, if that was even possible, when Alice brought Hayden to him.

He literally radiated happiness as he took our son in his arms and they played peek-a-boo with Emmett, who was standing up as the best man. Edward threw his head back in laughter as Hayden appeared to be giggling happily, which made my heart soar.

"Yeah, I'm ready Dad," I announced firmly as he extended his hand out to me and I quickly took it from him, letting him lead me from the room and down to the doors that led out to the backyard. Angela motioned to the violinist to begin and my dad pushed open the door and I began my walk down the aisle to greet my future; Edward and Hayden.

**A/N: Yes, I am stopping there. I am not going to write more of their wedding, but there will be a future outtake of their wedding and wedding night in Vegas, so you have that to look forward to. We have 1 chapter, an epilogue and the wedding outtake left! Then, onto A Beautiful Mess... my new story with Risbee that is a continuation of our one shot, London Calling!**


	39. Honeymoon in London

**A/N: Well here we are, the last official chapter. I just want to say thanks to everyone for sticking with me through both fricking stories. Don't even think about asking, because this will not be a trilogy. Thanks to all of those who have expressed interest in it, but it won't be happening. I have WAY too many ideas that I'm sure you guys are waiting to see… perhaps an extended version of Room 15 or the new extended version of London Calling, which will be called A Beautiful Mess.**

**Big thanks to my crew, beta extraordinaire MaggieMay14, partner in smut flightlessbird11 and my gal Risbee, just cause. If you haven't yet wandered over to P.I.C's Fan Fic Blog, what the hell are you waiting for? I will be a guest reviewer next Tuesday and Saturday for Guilty Pleasure week, so you know you won't want to miss that!**

**I don't own Twilight; I do own these words and lil' Hayden the foot eater.**

**BPOV**

When we boarded the plane at JFK bound for London, my heart was soaring. Edward and I had come such a long way in five years that it was rather daunting. We were married, twice over actually, and had a beautiful eight month old son who was literally our entire universe. Even thinking about it was a bit of a surprise to me because really, Edward had just turned 24 and I was going to follow in September. We were still young, but very much established in our lives.

When we finally touched down in London, I shouldn't have been surprised to find a car waiting for us at Heathrow. There was a man in a dark grey suit holding up a little sign that said 'Cullen Family' and I had to let out a small giggle at the sight. Even after being married to Edward for a year, being a Cullen was still something I was adjusting to. The gentleman took the bags I was holding and led us to his car, while Edward pushed the cart carrying all of our luggage and I pushed the stroller with Hayden in it.

"Wow, you certainly went all out," I laughed as I looked at the limo in front of us and watched as the man now I had taken to calling 'Jeeves' loaded our luggage in. There was even a car seat in the back setup for Hayden, so I eased him in to it as he fussed continually.

"This is courtesy of the hotel Bella. I think I would have gone for something more traditional in London like a horse-drawn carriage or one of those big ass double decker buses. Ooh, I should have gotten us one of those old timey Rolls Royces', like the Queen drives."

"I doubt the Queen actually drives," I retorted to Edward as Jeeves sat down in the front seat and began listening to us bicker, finding it quite amusing because he snorted on a couple of occasions.

"We watched 'The Queen' together Bella remember? The dude from Underworld played Tony Blair, you must remember this movie Bella," Edward said emphatically as he tried to jog my memory, which was successful, as I remembered the scene where the Queen drove her car through a shallow creek.

"Whatever, that was just a movie. Anyways, that actor guy was much better in Frost / Nixon," I replied with a wink as 'Jeeves' chuckled slightly from the front seat and kept driving. It wasn't too long before we pulled up in front of the Ritz London, the same hotel Edward and I had stayed at during our last night together on our original European trip. "Are you going for nostalgia husband of mine?"

"Something like that. Plus, in my opinion, this is the best hotel in the city," said Edward as the car pulled to a stop and I began to unbuckle Hayden from his car seat. As we stepped out of the car, Hayden clutched tightly in my arms, a gangly looking bell hop with a crooked hat was quick to pull all of our luggage from the trunk of the limo as we stepped into the hotel. As I looked around the spacious lobby, memories of our first visit came flooding back to me as Edward checked us in. "Ready to go?" he asked me a few minutes later as I simply nodded my head and followed him towards the bank of elevators and up to our room, carrying a sleepy Hayden in my arms.

When he slipped the key in the door and pushed it open, I was immediately overwhelmed. It was so formal and luxurious, I should have known better than to expect something more on par with what I would expect back in Forks or even New York. "This is too much," I said, my voice sounding exasperated at the sheer lush décor throughout the room. I felt like I was in Buckingham Palace or something.

"Oh don't give me the 'this costs too much' crap that I am used to from you," laughed Edward as he took Hayden from my arms and walked around the room behind me, my eyes darting all over the place as I looked everywhere, trying to soak it all in. "This was the only hotel room that wasn't booked that had two bedrooms. I love our son, but there is no way he will be sleeping in our bedroom on our honeymoon."

I let out a small giggle as I sat down in a plush wing chair beside the expansive fireplace in our suite. Edward sat Hayden on the floor and he stayed in place and began tugging on his little baby Converse sneakers that Rosalie and Emmett had gotten for him a few weeks prior. I was so wrapped up in watching him as he looked so content sitting on the floor tugging on the laces that I didn't even notice that bell hop arrive with our bags. Before I could even say anything, they had deposited the bags in the bedrooms and had disappeared in a flash.

"Did they deliver a crib up for Hayden?" I questioned as I grabbed our son from the floor and followed Edward into the smaller bedroom, which was still gigantic. The entire room looked normal, but off to one side instead of what I assumed was a dresser or some fancy ass wing chairs, there was a fancy ass wooden crib that probably cost more than my monthly salary. "Jesus. Can they not do anything normal?"

"This is normal for them Bella," laughed Edward as I checked out the insanely fancy crib sheet and comforter set draped over the crib. Hayden reached his hands out towards the bed, so I set him in it, watching as he immediately stood up grasping the sides and smiled brightly, apparently very pleased at his rather opulent bed.

"Do you want to see our room?" said Edward as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder, his lips finding purchase against the side of my neck. He sucked on the tender skin for a moment, making small goose bumps break out across my entire body, as I looked around the room for the clock, finding one that showed it was after six in the evening. My stomach grumbled loudly as I heard Edward laugh against my skin. "Ok, I get the hint, let's feed you guys first."

The rest of our evening was very casual. We got comfortable and unpacked our luggage after we had called for room service. When dinner was done, we gave Hayden a bath in the oversized claw foot tub in our immense bathroom that was literally the size of our living room back in Bedford. Once he was fast asleep, Edward insisted we get to sleep too since Monday was going to be a very busy day. I couldn't help but find myself unable to sleep as the prospect of what we had planned to do in London excited me.

The next morning, we all got dressed and headed down towards Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, which I expected we would visit sooner rather than later. We ate a quick breakfast at the National Café in the gallery, with Hayden enjoying some Cheerios and formula, before we went to explore the gallery. Edward grabbed a headset and chuckled under his breath as he pushed Hayden's stroller and led us towards the west wing, where I had met Edward for the second time all those years ago.

_After passing down a long hallway with a few paintings by Rembrandt, I suddenly came across one of my favorite paintings,' Bathers at Asnieres' by George Seurat. I stood before it for way too long before I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already after two in the afternoon. I had hoped to be at Buckingham Palace already, to try to find Edward. Things were not going my way apparently. I decided to stop worrying about Edward and enjoy the rest of my time at the gallery, as I headed into a small room filled with the works of Claude Monet and and Edouard Manet._

"_I like this one the best," said a strangely familiar voice behind me as he extended his hand towards 'Water Lilies' by Monet._

"_Everyone likes it," I muttered as I turned around and saw Edward standing there, listening to the audio provided by the gallery to go along with the paintings. "Why do you like it?" I asked curiously, still reeling from the fact that he was standing before me._

"_Umm… I like it because it's pretty?" he asked with a laugh as he sat down on a bench in the middle of the room and I reluctantly followed._

"_What are you doing here?" I think my mouth might have stayed open as I said this, because I was still surprised he was now sitting in front of me, and some of my favorite paintings._

"_I wanted to experience culture; I am in London for Christ sakes, right?" I frowned at him because I could tell he wasn't being honest with me. "Okay, I wanted to see you again." I think I was shocked even more than before, but it was a happy shocked. He wanted to see me just as much as I wanted to see him._

"_Why?"_

"_I wanted to spend more time with you," Edward admitted, suddenly looking as though he regretted opening his mouth at all, or even showing up at the Gallery. "Can I join you while you over analyze the paintings? There must be a few collections you haven't visited yet," he asked nervously as I watched him intently before finally nodding my head and we stood up from the bench to go and look at a few more paintings._

"_This is 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh," I remarked happily as we stopped in front of one of the world's most well known paintings. From the look of confusion on Edward's face, I could tell he wasn't overly impressed by the still life we were looking at._

"_Wasn't he the guy who cut off his ear?" Edward asked with a small grin, giving away that he knew something about art. Then again, he could have been at the gallery for hours and gone on a tour or something and heard from the guide about the rather tumultuous history of Van Gogh._

"_Yeah, he was," I smiled in return, not caring at all how he knew it, but pleased that he did._

"_I don't like it. It looks like he put way too much paint on his brush and couldn't be bothered to wipe it off," Edward said as he moved back from the painting and watched me as I worshiped every little drop of paint. _

"_It's called impasto, where the paint is put on very thickly, to provide texture," I explained emphatically as Edward just nodded his head and continued to listen to my lecture on the painting. He stared at me with such intensity that I figured I could be droning on about shoelaces and he would probably be interested. This was definitely a good sign. _

"Do you remember this one?" I asked of Edward as I was pulled from my daydream about our past. It was still so amazing to me how far we had come together. We were standing in front of 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh again and I looked down at Hayden who was now fast asleep, his little arms wrapped around the stuffed toy of Leonardo Da Vinci we had gotten him from the gift shop.

"Yeah, I remember it and I still don't like it," laughed Edward as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. Every time we were together like this, I felt like a puzzle piece that was matched with its perfect piece. I looked up at him with a wide grin on my face and kissed him sweetly. "Are you trying to mystify me into liking it cause it won't happen. It looks like a mess."

"I won't try to make you like it baby," I said genuinely as I entwined my fingers in his and rested my head against his shoulder; reveling in the moment of solitude we had been granted. "It is beautiful though, even though your untrained eye doesn't see it. Let's go check out some of the other masterpieces before the little troublemaker wakes up."

**EPOV**

Touring around London with Bella and Hayden was much better than I could have ever hoped it would be. On Monday after we visited the National Gallery, we wandered the streets for a bit before heading back to our hotel for the evening. Once Hayden fell asleep, Bella and I made love in our room well until the early hours of the morning and it was blissful.

During our original stops in London, we never got to do too many touristy things, so it was nice to be back in the city again and we took full advantage of everything it had to offer. Tuesday we did a major walk around London with Hayden literally giddy to see everything. We started at Buckingham Palace before marking our way over to Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square and Big Ben. We didn't tour all of the locations, but rather walked by and took some photos of us and Hayden. In the afternoon, we headed into the London Aquarium, where we spent the afternoon checking out all the sea life that it had to offer.

We watched a shark feed, which was a little disturbing, but interesting nonetheless before we headed off to see some of the more docile fish and mammals that the aquarium had to offer. Hayden was most partial to the exhibits on the colorful coral and rainforest fish and even clapped his hands when he saw an orange and white clown fish that looked just like Nemo, of which he had a stuffed toy courtesy of Grandma Renee and Grandpa Charlie.

After a quick cab ride back to our hotel, we settled in for the night enjoying some dinner in one of the restaurants in the hotel before going to sleep early. Well, Bella and Hayden went to bed early. I caught up on a little work on my laptop and arranged for a surprise to be delivered the following day. When I finally grew tired, I went to check on Hayden who was passed out and then I climbed into the rather large and plush bed beside my wife, falling asleep almost instantly.

Wednesday was another fun filled day as we headed on over to the London Zoo, with Hayden being most enthralled by the Butterfly enclosure and the penguins. He cried repeatedly when we checked out the Gorilla Kingdom, apparently scared by both the size and the loud grunts of the Gorillas. When Bella attempted to soothe him and let Hayden know they were nothing more than a hairy version of Uncle Emmett, he cried even more. We left shortly thereafter and decided to call it a short day and head back to the hotel for some much needed rest. When we got back to the Ritz, Bella went up to our room with Hayden to put him down for his afternoon nap while I stretched the truth slightly and said I was going to meet the concierge to discuss dinner.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Cullen," said Paul politely, his British accent very pronounced, as I walked up to the concierge desk nervously. I looked over to the bank of elevators and watched as Bella stepped inside with Hayden still in his stroller. "Your package arrived earlier this afternoon. I'm assuming this is what you were looking for?"

"Yes, and can you also arrange a special dinner for tonight?" I requested as I began listing off a selection of Bella's favorite items. Paul reassured me that my requests were not going to be a problem and he handed me my small box with a huge smile as I tipped him and headed up to our room. Bella was just walking out of Hayden's room, closing the door behind her, when I walked into our suite.

"He was tuckered out. Apparently screaming at the Gorilla's not only terrified him, it made him very tired," exclaimed Bella as I tossed the box onto a small table in the front hallway and hugged Bella tight against me. "You alright?"

"Never better. Dinner should be here around six thirty."

"Enough time for a short nap then," said Bella forcefully as she grabbed my hand and led us towards our bedroom. We kept our clothes on and curled up in each other's arms, with Bella falling asleep before me, her gentle breathing calming me and lulling me into sweet dreams of our previous visit to London.

"_What are you doing?" asked Bella as she watched me stalk across the room to my backpack and start rummaging through it._

"_I'm looking for something," I said with a slight slur as I finally found the box. I walked back to the bed with my hands around my back and sat down, cross legged in front of her. "I have something for you, but if you want it, you have to play nice." Bella nodded her head slowly and I pulled the long thin box out from behind my back._

"_What did you do now?" she asked as a nervous frown crossed her face. I lifted the lid off the box and watched as her eyes widened and she ran her fingers along the links. There was one single charm, a small sterling silver Eiffel Tower, hanging from the center of the bracelet._

"_Don't go all crazy and assume I spent thousands, because I didn't," I said as I tried to reassure her. "But, I am on a mission to find other charms that represent our trip, like a sailboat or something like that."_

"_Can you put it on?" asked Bella with a smile as I lifted it from the box and gripped her wrist lightly, wrapping the links around her and clasping the two ends together. I had to admit, it looked really cute on her wrist, and I felt even better because she had something on her that would always remind her of me._

_I slid my hand up her arm and then down her body, grasping the hem of her shirt and pulling it slowly over her head. We had very little time left together but I was definitely going to spend the rest of the night making love to her, no matter how long it took. She was going to remember how much I loved her, and never doubt me. I felt her small hands reach behind my head and bury themselves in my hair as she pulled me closer to her for a much firmer and deeper kiss._

_I repositioned myself so that I was kneeling between her legs and reached up to run my fingers along the waistband of her shorts. I tugged them off slowly as I trailed kisses down from her thigh to her toes. Bella was left before me in just her bra and panties. She looked so gorgeous that I actually didn't want to remove them. My fingers raced up her skin from her ankle past her thigh and stomach, finally settling on the crook of her neck. I leaned down and started to cover her breasts and collarbone with small gentle kisses as I pulled the straps of her bra down and off her shoulders. Bella sat up slowly and unclasped her bra, letting her breasts fall free and I wanted to gasp at the sight of them, even though I had spent the past several weeks adoring them, she still looked as beautiful as ever. When Bella lay back down, I sat back on my knees and stared at her._

"_What's wrong?" she asked curiously as stretched her hand out to grab mine._

"_Nothing's wrong Bella. Everything is perfect just the way it is," I said with a sigh as I grabbed her thighs in my hands and spread her legs open for me. I started worshipping her by running my finger up and down her white lace covered mound, and Bella released a slight moan from the sensation of my hands on her. I grasped the edge of her panties and slowly slid them from her eager body, returning my finger to her hot center, where it ran the length of her folds. She was soaking wet for me, and I basked in the fact that she was having this reaction to me. As I bent my head forward, my lips felt like a magnet drawn her to clit, so I spread her folds and started to suck furiously on her nub as I slipped two fingers inside of her._

"_Shit," groaned Bella as my fingers slid deftly inside of her and my tongue continued its assault on her clit for the next several minutes. I watched as Bella's hands reached behind her head and she grabbed onto the plush fabric headboard for support. As I curled my fingers within her sex, I heard her scream out as her body tensed around me. I loved hearing her cum and loved looking at her face even more when she did it. I kneeled back and took a moment to compose myself as I looked down upon her._

"_You are so fucking beautiful, I am so not worthy of you Bella," I said to her as I moved forward and positioned myself between her legs. "Are you on the pill?" I asked curiously, suddenly feeling very angry with myself for not noticing earlier if she took a little pill every single morning. Bella simply nodded her head. I wanted to be inside of her, with no restrictions and from the look on her face, she wanted the same._

_My hands gripped her waist, but not as hard as I usually did. I slid myself into her slowly, reveling in the feeling of nothing between us, she felt a million times better than all the other times we had sex. I kept my eyes trained on Bella the entire time we made love. I wanted to see every emotion that crossed her face as I worshipped her body. The sheer passion I felt between us was all that mattered in that moment as I leaned forward and kissed her passionately, my hands now cradling her face. I didn't want this night to end. I shivered as I felt her fingertips move against my chest slowly. I could feel my cock was ready to explode, and I reached my hand between us and rubbed Bella's clit gently._

"_Look at me Bella," I said sweetly as her eyes opened slowly and she stared at me, her eyes burning into my soul. I felt her tense beneath me, knowing full well her release was imminent. I reached my hand up to cup her face again, my thumb sliding up and down on the side of her cheek, "No one else Bella." My words were supposed to come out lovingly, but to me they seemed like a demand. Perhaps that was because the beer was still coursing its way through my system, I wasn't sure._

_Bella screamed out my name as her entire body tightened and she came for me, which caused me to release deep inside of her. "No one else Edward. No one else ever."_

When I woke up from our nap only an hour later, my arm was wrapped firmly around Bella and I was absentmindedly fingering her bracelet. I pulled myself out of bed reluctantly and headed down the hallway to the bathroom. When I came out, I could hear Hayden chatting away happily to himself in his crib, babbling on about nothing. I got him out of the bed and changed his diaper and then I grabbed the box from the front hall before I brought Hayden back into the bedroom where Bella was finally stirring.

"Hey boys," she said sleepily as she rubbed her eyes and looked up at me and Hayden. I gave him the small blue box, tied with a delicate satin ribbon, but instead of handing it to Bella, Hayden thrust it towards his mouth and began to gnaw on a corner.

"Oh come on buddy, you are ruining the moment," I said with a small chuckle as I pried the box from his surprisingly strong grip. "This is for you from the little munchkin and me."

Bella's eyes grew bright as she eyed up the box and smiled at me genuinely. She pulled at the ribbon and watched as it unraveled in her hands. When she lifted the lid, I thought she was going to break out into tears, which concerned me especially since it was such a small token of my affection. "Big Ben," she said with a small laugh as she held up the tiny charm I had gotten for her bracelet to symbolize our honeymoon. "It's perfect."

"Yeah well, I aim to please," I said with a laugh as Hayden started clapping happily on the bed between us, his exuberance causing him to tip over slightly towards Bella, who pushed him back up. "See, even Hayden was so excited he was about to pass out."

"Thank you Edward," she uttered sweetly as she slipped the charm onto her bracelet and held it up to look at it. There were still several links that remained empty, but I knew we had our entire lives ahead of us full of milestones of which I could add to her bracelet as a constant reminder. "No one else Edward."

I leaned forward and kissed Bella's lips sweetly, remembering the words we had spoke to each other several years ago in the exact same hotel.

"No one else Bella. No one else ever."

**A/N: I hope none of you are mad about the flashback nookie. That was my favorite part of the series, so I had to add it. Now, before you review, think long and hard about what you would prefer to see first… the epilogue or the outtake of their Las Vegas wedding night. Made a decision? Good… hit the review button and whichever gets the most votes will be up next.**


	40. AB Outtake: Las Vegas Wedding Night

**A/N: Let's just say, you lovely readers were pretty evenly split about what you wanted to see more… the outtake or the epilogue. Since I decided that it would be nice to end things completely with the epilogue, please enjoy the outtake of Edward & Bella's Las Vegas Wedding Night.**

**Thanks for MaggieMay14 for being such a fuckawesome beta. You rock my socks off sugar! Oh and if you are reading 'The Resolution' please note that I am suffering a severe case of writer's block with that story. I know where I want to go, I just don't know how to get there. One of the downfalls of writing without an outline I suppose. Don't hate me. I haven't abandoned it, but don't expect an update this week.**

**I don't own Twilight, I do have a big box of 'white swan' Kleenex on my desk both for the irony and cause I have a cold.**

**Flashback **

"_This all sounds wonderful," I stated as Bella looked at me with both excitement and fear in her eyes. Claire handed me the bands we had ordered from Tiffany's as she wished us luck. The gondolier helped me into the boat first, followed by Bella and the minster was already seated across from us. I noticed Bella had her hands wrapped tightly around her bouquet, so tight that the whites of her knuckles were visible and my heart started to beat out of my chest. After everything we had gone through and said to each other today, did she really __not__ want to get married. I wasn't going to do this unless she was completely prepared._

"_Are you ready Mrs. Cullen?"_

**BPOV**

Even as those words came out of his mouth, everything still felt surreal. I nodded my head slowly and clasp my one free hand tightly into his as we were pushed away from the dock and slowly started floating along the faux waterway within the hotel. The minister began speaking, but I had to be honest, I wasn't really focused on him. I was looking around at the interior of the Grand Canal Shoppes, and at all the people who were staring at Edward and me as we were in the process of getting married. If I was worried about our family and friends staring at me at an actual church as we got married, this was ten times worse because I didn't know anyone. Hell, I caught sight of one older woman who was wearing an old school Wham T-shirt and had a fanny pack. This didn't feel right.

Well, it didn't feel right until I looked to the left and saw the wide smile and sincere eyes of my soon to be husband. "Everything alright?" he asked with a hint of concern as I simply nodded my head. Edward was ecstatic to say the least, most likely because he didn't want our child born out of wedlock, or simply because he loved me that much. Either answer worked for me though.

When we stopped underneath what was supposed to be a replica of the Rialto Bridge, I thought about our time back in Europe so many years ago, a tear coming to my eye as the minister turned to Edward and began to speak again. "Repeat after me Edward."

Not once while Edward was reciting his vows did I hear the minister speaking. All I heard was Edward's words of love and devotion that he spoke so genuinely as he looked into my eyes deeply. I couldn't remember a moment where I had loved Edward more than right then as he spoke to me with such conviction that there was no doubt in the mind of anyone who was watching us, that he was completely devoted to me.

"Isabella Marie Swan, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife.  
Before these witnesses, I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live.  
I take you, with all your faults and strengths, as I offer myself to you with all my faults and strengths.  
I will help you when you need me, and turn to you when I need help.  
I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

I couldn't help the urge that overwhelmed me with need to kiss Edward, but before I had the chance, the minister was asking me to state my vows, which I did with as much passion and confidence as Edward had. When everything was said and done, Edward and I practically mauled each other when we were finally able to kiss. It was sweet, but there was no gentleness to it. We both needed the connection too much after finally being married.

_Holy shit, I was married. To Edward._

Before we stepped from the boat, the photographer from the wedding chapel took several pictures of us in various states, cuddled together in the gondola. Then we were ushered around the hotel for more photos, all the while being stared at by the tourists that were all around us. The moment we were finished with the photos, Edward and I practically dashed hand in hand towards the elevators and up to our suite.

I shouldn't have been surprised by what was waiting for me when I walked in, but it still took my breath away. The lights in the room were all dimmed; vases of flowers adorned virtually every available surface and in the center was a dining room table, dressed formally with candles and beautiful china settings. "What have you done?" I asked as I set my bouquet down on the nearest table and stalked towards Edward, trying to sound upset with him. He quickly saw through my ruse and wrapped me tightly in his arms, pulling me to his chest.

"Can't I show my wife how much I love her? I mean… this is the first official night of the rest of our lives together," he said sweetly as I buried my head into his chest and listened to his heart beating. It sounded just as erratic as mine. "I ordered a few things for dinner and thought we could just relax. Is that alright Mrs. Cullen?"

"Ok, but on a serious note, you referring to me as your wife is a huge turn on," I admitted freely as Edward quirked his eye brow at me, apparently very pleased by this turn of events.

"I'll remember that for after dinner," he said with a wink as he then kissed me gently against my temple and took my hand in his, leading me towards the table. Ever the gentleman, he pulled out my seat and helped me get comfortable before taking his own seat. I burst out laughing when Edward pulled the top off of the trays we had waiting for us, because beneath them sat Big Mac's, French fries and biggie soft drinks. "In remembrance of Belgium."

I couldn't believe that on my wedding night I was about to sit in my fancy dress and eat McDonalds' but knowing that Edward had remembered one of the first meals we had eaten together in Europe just made me smile even more. "You are insane you know."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"Statement. Everyone knows you are insane," I said cheerfully as I munched on one of the French fries from my platter. "I just can't believe you did this."

"I would offer you the world if I could Bella. I already feel bad that we eloped in Vegas instead of some big formal wedding, but I know you didn't really want that either," said Edward as he took a casual sip of his drink and looked at me, his eyes full of remorse. "I feel like I should have given you so much more for our wedding."

I pushed back from my chair and walked around the table, pushing Edward's seat slightly so that I could sit in his lap. "All I ever wanted from my wedding was for you to be there with me," I said genuinely as I held his face in my hands and kissed him sweetly. "Please don't worry about anything else. Our day was perfect and it was just for us and the thousands of tourists who walked by us." Thankfully, we both laughed at this and Edward reached over for my tray and pulled it close to us. I sat on his lap for the rest of our meal and we took turns feeding each other French fries as we simply reveled in being together.

When the last bits of our meal were finished, I found myself desperate to get out of my wedding dress. "Do you mind if I go change?" I questioned Edward as he helped me off of his lap and I slowly smoothed out the dress, his eyes watching me the entire time.

"Yeah, I kinda mind. I was hoping to get my wife out of her dress," he said with a sly grin as he stood up and came in front of me, wrapping his arms around me and grabbing the top of the zipper at the back of my dress. My chest was pressed tightly against his as I felt his hands skillfully though slowly pull the zipper down until it would go no further, his hands moving slowly back up my body, feeling the now bare skin of my shoulders beneath his fingers.

"Very good job Mr. Cullen," I replied seductively as Edward turned me around so that my back was now against his chest and he slowly pushed my dress down onto the floor. His hands were all over me, tempting me as he moved them tenderly across my midsection before practically ghosting them up to my covered breasts, which he cupped firmly, before leaning forward, his mouth right against my ear.

"You'll be thinking that for the rest of the night Mrs. Cullen. Just how good I can truly be," he said breathily, causing a shiver down my spine and affecting my entire body. "For the record, there is absolutely no reason for you to change. In fact, I think you are wearing far too many clothes."

I casually glanced down at myself and smirked a little at my outfit. Even though I had purchased a pale white silk gown to wear tonight, Edward was apparently more partial to the corset and garter set I had worn under my dress. Deciding to be a little bold, I pulled myself from Edward's grasp and walked slowly towards the bed, my hips swaying as I turned back towards him and looked at him with newfound determination in my eyes. "Oh, you think this is too much do you?" I asked with a small laugh. "Would you prefer if I took this off?" I reached behind myself and unclasped my corset, which I knew would have frustrated Edward if he had to attempt its removal. Once it was finally free, I tossed it on the other side of the room, narrowly avoiding one of the vases of flowers.

"Oh hell yes, that is much better," Edward replied as he took in my half naked form appraisingly.

"What else should I take off?"

"Everything else can stay on, but the panties," he forced out through clenched teeth. I could tell he was having a lot of trouble keeping himself in check and it made me laugh a little bit. "The shoes definitely stay on."

**EPOV**

What was I expected to say? 'I'd really love to make love or even fuck my wife, but please stay dressed?' There was no way that was happening. I watched with rapt attention as Bella unclasped her garters for a moment and then began to pull her panties down her legs, but my own desire overcame me and I found myself stalking across the room and kneeling before her to complete the task for myself.

"Let me help you with that," I said sweetly, trying not to sound like some sex crazed idiot, when in truth that was exactly what I felt like. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't pictured my wedding night with Bella. Of course, I never expected it to be in a hotel in Las Vegas, but then again, I didn't expect to be a father so young either. Every single little road bump that Bella and I had faced had been worth it though, and seeing her wedding band alongside her engagement ring on her finger, made me smile because there was no way I could put into words how it made me feel. It also made me hard knowing that she was mine forever, and no one else would have her the way I would, which was in every possible position for the rest of our lives together.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and grabbed the small swatch of lace again, pulling it down till it reached her small feet. I lifted each heel separately and pulled the panties off, shoving them in my pocket without her noticing. I then ghosted my hands along the inside of her thighs and was greeted with the sweetest moan possible when I stopped just before her already excited folds.

I should have laid her down, caressed every inch of her soft skin and repeatedly told her that I loved her as I slipped inside her for all eternity, but Bella knew how I felt. Plus, being six inches away from her heat was turning me into a fucking caveman. Instead of making sweet love to my wife, I grabbed the ankle of her left foot and lifted it onto my shoulder, feeling the heel digging in slightly and turning me on even more.

"Edward," Bella said with a bit of hesitation in her voice as I lifted one finger and dragged it along the inside of her slick folds, causing her to shiver instead of protest.

"We have the rest of our lives together Bella," I stated emphatically, hoping she wouldn't be upset with me for what I was about to do. "Just enjoy every moment of it." Before I gave her a chance to respond, I snaked my tongue out and ran it between her wet lips, tasting her arousal, which in turn made me harder still.

I moved my tongue around her clit in slow circles, listening as her breathing became labored as she then threaded her fingers through my hair and tugged a little bit. After several moments, Bella let go of my hair and I let out a soft groan, not wanting her to release me at all. In response, I slowly eased two fingers inside of her, her wet tightness surrounding me and making me want to roll her onto her back and fuck the hell out of her. So much for gentle and sweet wedding night sex, I laughed to myself internally.

"Jesus Edward," she panted out as she gripped my hair again and began moving her hips against my face. I bit down on her tiny clit and reveled in the growl she released, filling the room with her sweet noises. Bella's legs began to get slightly shaky with her impending release, so as I continued my actions on her pussy, I made sure to hold her still with one hand, listening smugly as she called out my name and came in what could only be described as sensuously and powerful.

I released my hold on her and Bella sat back on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to compose herself as I looked down on her beautiful body. I pulled each shoe from her slowly, followed by her thigh high panty hose and finally her garters, leaving her completely naked for me. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world," I said honestly as Bella smiled shyly and reached up to grab a hold of my tie, pulling me down to kiss her tender lips.

It made me growl and throb as I watched her lick her lips, no doubt tasting herself from when I had kissed her. Bella then reached up and began eagerly unbuttoning my dress shirt with wanton disregard for the buttons themselves, especially since two of them ended up coming off and falling to the floor. "You can take your time you know. I'm not going anywhere," I reassured her, but Bella didn't seem to care.

"I want you so much right now, it's not even funny," she stated as I tugged my tie off and Bella was finally finished with my shirt. She tugged it roughly from my shoulders and pulled it down my arms until she had finally gotten me free of it, looking a little frustrated after the fact because it took her so long. In an effort to calm her down somewhat, I took two steps back from her and began to remove my shoes, socks and pants myself.

"Move to the middle of the bed," I instructed her, as she raised one eye brow at me questioningly. When I looked back at her with narrowed eyes, Bella was quick to reposition herself. "On your back."

I yanked off my boxers and climbed onto the bed, kneeling back onto my ankles in front of Bella. I spread her legs open wider for me and noticed her bite down on her bottom lip in nervousness or anticipation, I couldn't tell which one. I slowly moved myself to hover over her body and as I looked down on the sweet and contented face of my wife, I was suddenly back to being the doting husband who wanted to take it slow with his wife, rather than the man who just five minutes ago had visions of bending her over the bed and fucking her as hard as I could.

I propped myself up on one arm, unwilling to press my entire body against her because of the baby, and reached up to cup her cheek with one hand, sweetly. "I love you… it's only ever been you."

"I love you too Edward. Only you," she replied as she reached up and pressed her lips against mine as my cock pressed against her folds. "Please have me… for the rest of our lives," she pleaded as I moved against her until I was positioned properly.

With one slow thrust and a long groan from both of us, I pushed inside my wife. _My Wife_. It still sounded surreal to think about it, but it put the biggest smile on my face knowing that it was Bella and I against the world going forward. I growled as I felt Bella's hands against my back, her nails digging in slightly as I moved within her. It was pure fucking ecstasy and I was enjoying every single second. We moved against each other in a perfect rhythm, even our moans and groans sounded like a fucking symphony to me as I remained sheathed in my wife, her hips pressing against mine.

I leaned forward and began kissing her lips gently as I felt her hard nipples pressed against my chest. "I love you so much," I explained as Bella closed her eyes and rolled her head back against the pillow. She continued to bite down on her lower lip, which made me ache even more. It was only a few minutes later, that I was afforded the most beautiful sight in the world… Bella as she released around me, calling out my name as she came. The mere sight of her coming pushed me over the edge and seconds later I was growling in release as I came inside my beautiful wife.

"Jesus," Bella panted as I rolled off of her and she curled up onto her side facing me. I felt a little smug as I watched her eyes close and her breathing regulate, clearly having given her a more than satisfactory orgasm. "How did I get so lucky to find you in an airport in New York?"

"Umm," I said as she opened her eyes slightly and looked at me in nervousness. "I hate to burst your bubble, but I was the one who saw you first in New York. I spoke to you first, and then I was the bold one who begged the flight attendant for the seat beside you."

Bella sat up against the head board and looked at me with a bit of frustration. "I saw you before you came over to talk to me you know."

"Whatever Bella, stop trying to make claims four years after the fact. We both know I was the one who is responsible for this mess," I said as I motioned between the two of us. "I pursued you. I went and found you in London and I think I was the one who knocked you up too!"

"Meh, we still have to run the paternity test," she laughed as I wrapped my arms around her and began peppering her with gentle kisses and then started tickling her teasingly, making her swat my hands away while she laughed happily.

"Very funny Mrs. Cullen," I added with a sarcastic laugh as she kissed my forehead. "Now, I believe I'm ready for round two, so shut up and kiss me."

**A/N: I promise that the epilogue is in fact in progress and will definitely be up before Christmas. Now, since you have finished this chapter, why don't you head over and begin reading 'A Beautiful Mess' the continuation of the 'London Calling' one-shot I did with my girl Risbee. I promise you won't be disappointed. Oh and drop a review too! I love knowing what you guys think and if there is something you would like to see in the epilogue??**


	41. American Boy Epilogue

**A/N: This is it. Let's hold each other. **

**I don't own Twilight, but I saw 'The Princess and the Frog' tonight and it was kinda cute.**

**BPOV - December 25, 2011**

"Mommy… Daddy…. Santa here," called out Hayden as he plowed through our bedroom door and jumped up and down on the bed. Edward and I had been up till almost two in the morning trying to put together all the toys and finish wrapping everything that needed to be done. We had tried really hard, and I think we had been successful at keeping the illusion of Santa Claus alive for our now three year old son.

Today was also his birthday and we had decided to hold a party for him in a few days, so that he didn't get overwhelmed by the fact that this birthday and Christmas fell on the same day. Of course Hayden was young enough not to care, but we felt like they should be celebrated separately. We already had the party planned, his 'Go Diego, Go' cake was on order and all of his friends from pre-school would be over on Saturday for the event. Unfortunately, we still had to get through Christmas first.

"I et present ow," he stated rather than asked and Edward wrapped his arms around Hayden and pulled him down onto the bed between us.

"You have to wait for Mommy and Daddy before you go open any presents. We have told you this big guy," Edward explained as Hayden gave him a small pout that was truly adorable. "Do you think Santa would like it if you started acting up now?" In his three years, Hayden had turned into quite the little handful and in order to keep him in line, we _may_ have threatened that Santa wouldn't come and visit if he misbehaved. Surprisingly, it had worked.

"No, Santa mad," said Hayden as he bent his head down slightly, feeling pretty remorseful for being so excited about Christmas.

"It's okay buddy… why don't you go to the living room and give Mommy and Daddy a minute to get dressed. We'll be right down okay?" I said sweetly as I ran my fingers through Hayden's unruly auburn locks that reminded me completely of Edward. Even when we got his hair cut, it just ended up a disheveled mess five minutes later. I watched as Hayden eagerly jumped off the bed and we listened to his little slipper clad feet as he ran down the stairs.

"Don't open anything," Edward yelled down at him as he we both reluctantly climbed out of bed, feeling the aches and pains of being up so late the night before. "They need to make toys that build themselves on Christmas Eve."

"Think positive hon," I began to say as Edward turned to look at me, curious as to my remark. "We could have bought everything from Ikea. You'd still be down there putting stuff together."

"You buy one shelving unit that takes you three days to build and you never live it down," he said with a frown as he headed towards the bathroom and I stopped him, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips, which just left me wanting more. Even seven and a half years into our relationship, I couldn't help myself around him.

When Edward and I finally went downstairs a few minutes later, we found Hayden sitting cross legged in front of the tree shaking a box. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was actually for Grandma Esme, which made me laugh. "That's not for you buddy," I said as I pulled the box from his tiny hands and he looked downright disappointed.

"It's big," he announced as I nodded my head in agreement. Of course, it was only big to Hayden. It was actually just a pashmina scarf in a large sized box, because it was the only size they had at the store when I had purchased it. "Can we open now?"

Edward stepped into the kitchen and began a pot of coffee and a cup of tea for me, as I sat down with Hayden and peeled another present from his hands that he had just taken from under the tree. "Not all of these presents are for you Hayden. Some are for Mommy and Daddy, and there's a few in there for baby Noah, Grandma Esme and Grandpa Carlisle," I explained as Hayden's eyes little grew wide at the mere mention of his grandparents. They were the most doting grandparents ever, having finally made the move to Manhattan earlier in the year when Rosalie and Emmett announced they were expecting. Carlisle was on the verge of retiring and worked from home most days, so they sold the house in Boston and moved a little south to New York, settling into a small, for them, apartment on the Upper East Side.

"Grandpa! Yeah!" Hayden exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands together. "We see Grandpa soon?"

"Yes Hayden, we will see Grandpa, Grandma and the whole family this afternoon at Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice's house." He was so excited with this news; I think that if the tree was not a mere two feet away from him, he would have forgotten about Christmas altogether.

I managed to calm Hayden enough that he wasn't ready to rip into every gift, but when Edward came into the room holding a coffee for himself and my tea, I knew Hayden was getting antsy. Edward and I decided that easiest thing to do was to have one of us hand out the gifts so that Hayden could take his time, but Hayden had other ideas because when we handed him the first present, a remote control truck that Edward wanted more than Hayden probably did, he lost interest in all the other presents and spent ten minutes playing with just_ that_ truck. Edward and I spent the following five minutes explaining that there were other toys and presents under the tree, with Hayden finally getting the point and going through all his gifts like a madman.

In my infinite wisdom, I had sorted the presents to the side that we were taking over to Alice and Jasper's later in the afternoon, so that Hayden couldn't get his hands on them. Just as we were winding down to the last few gifts, Edward handed me a small box that I knew for a fact wasn't under the tree earlier in the morning. "What did you do now?" I joked with him as he slipped the box into my rather reluctant fingers. As per usual, Edward and I had decided to exchange only small gifts, but for him size apparently meant the size of the box and not the cost.

"Nothing, I swear. It's little," he said with a small blush as Hayden grabbed a box from under the tree and began shaking it.

"Wait bud, that's for your Daddy, we'll give it to him in a minute," I said as I grabbed the thin box from Hayden's hands and rested it in my lap before I opened the small box and gasped at the diamond earrings that laid within it. "These are beautiful Edward."

"Not as beautiful as my wife," he replied genuinely as he leaned forward and kissed me sweetly, with Hayden trying to steal the box from my lap. "What's this?"

"This is your gift. I didn't spend nearly as much on it as you did on mine though," I said remorsefully as I handed it to him and Hayden crawled into my lap. I wrapped my arms around Hayden and watched intently as Edward tore open the wrapping paper of the small narrow box and then pulled off the top to find a t-shirt folded up neatly within it.

"A shirt… thanks baby," he said quietly, sounding a little disappointed.

"Read the shirt," I said anxiously as he quirked his eye brow and then unfolded it, holding it up for what seemed like a really long time before he brought it down.

"Are you serious?" he asked as his eyes lit up with excitement and I simply nodded my head. Edward leaned forward and kissed me, with a little more passion this time, squeezing Hayden between the two of us as he showed me just how excited he was. "This is the best gift ever." I couldn't help but smile as Edward pulled away and yanked off the shirt he was already wearing to replace it with his new one which read, ' Be kind to me, my wife is pregnant.' "When are you due? Do you even know? When did you find out?"

"Calm down with the questions baby! I suspected something about a month ago and I took a home pregnancy test that came out positive. I didn't want to get your hopes up after what happened last time," I said quietly as Edward wrapped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me against him. I wiped a small tear away as I remembered the miscarriage we had suffered through not long after Hayden turned one. "I decided to go to the doctor two weeks ago and when I found out it was all good, I hatched this plan."

Hayden climbed from my lap and went to go play with one of his new toys as Edward pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me. "It's honestly the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for."

"I'm due at the end of July, so consider the birth a belated birthday gift," I laughed with a small smile as Edward kissed my lips sweetly and tightened his grip on me.

"I hope it's a girl," Edward said happily as I brushed his unruly hair away from his eyes and kissed his cheek as one of his hands moved gently across my stomach, rubbing my stomach sweetly. "I just have a feeling it's a girl."

**EPOV - July 27****th****, 2012**

I was nervous.

Bella was clutching at my hand as hard as she could and I was trying to maintain some semblance of calm as I instructed her through her breathing exercises. It didn't help that New York City was currently in the midst of a heat wave and the air conditioning was on the fritz in the building. I felt like I was melting in the fiery pits of hell.

"We're sorry about the temperature in here. It should be fixed any minute now," our nurse Brenda, explained sweetly as I simply shook my head and Bella turned into little girl from 'The Exorcist'.

"You have been telling us that for the past three hours," she yelled out as her hand gripped mine tighter. "I would really appreciate it if you would either stop lying to me, or just get this damned kid out so I can relax."

"I'm sure they are doing all they can Bella," I stated supportively as I used the cold washcloth to wipe her forehead and hopefully calm her somewhat. Bella and I were most anxious because we were going through a normal labor, unlike with the birth of Hayden which had been drama filled. Well, normal if you discount the heat wave and air conditioning issue.

Hayden was currently at Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper's house for the next few hours, most likely cooped up within the confines of their air conditioned brownstone playing toys. Alice & Jasper were expecting their own little bundle of joy in mid December and were thrilled to be able to babysit for us. Hayden was three and a half and even though he had his moments, he was usually a joy to be around. However, the moment Bella went into labor, he started calling out for Alice & Jasper, so we were relived they were home and eager to take him off of our hands.

Bella's labor had progressed nicely and she had even gotten the epidural this time around, which had pleased both of us. In fact, if it wasn't for this damned heat wave, life would have been as peachy as it could be considering my wife was about to give birth.

"She's crowning," called out Dr. Edison, who was Bella's new OB/GYN. Her previous doctor had retired not long after Hayden came along, and we were referred to Doc Edison who actually was located closer to Bella's work, which was convenient. We were worried about having a child vaginally after requiring a c-section with Hayden, but thankfully it wasn't all that uncommon and Doc Edison was very encouraging about the entire situation. "Edward, did you want to see your child being born?"

I was beyond eager to see the miracle of child birth, even though the video we had watched in our original birthing classes had freaked me out. Bella nodded her head at me and I practically jumped up from my seat and stepped beside the doctor, eager to see my daughter being born. Well, we didn't know if it was a girl or not, but I was certain. Until I watched the baby come out and saw another penis. I was wrong.

"It's a boy," Doc Edison announced happily as Bella began crying tears of joy and the nurse came up beside me to have me assist in cutting the umbilical cord, which I did with ease. Once he was all cleaned up and Bella was holding him in her arms, we had a small debate brewing.

"I'm thinking Casey," said Bella as I looked down at our son and shook my head in the negative.

"Um no. I can't handle Casey Cullen. It rhymes too much, plus I think my Uncle Oscar has an illegitimate daughter named Casey," I admitted ruefully as Bella shook her head in frustration.

"Okay, then let's reconsider the name Eugene, since your screwed up family tree has the corner on the other name I like," declared Bella as unnamed baby boy Cullen began moving his lips around, signaling that he was hungry. He latched on to Bella a lot easier than Hayden had and I was a little relieved, thus allowing me to go back to our conversation.

"Eugene was never a serious consideration Bella. If we named him that, the only thing we are assuring ourselves it that he would get beat up on a regular basis in the schoolyard," I stated firmly, because to me the name was never entertained. "What about Jackson or even just Jack?"

"Well, the way you said 'Just Jack' kinda reminded me of that show 'Will & Grace', but I kinda like it. What do you suggest for a middle name?" questioned Bella as she repositioned lil baby Cullen a little bit and he seemed even more content as he enjoyed a leisurely lunch. I hadn't even taken into consideration that it was just past two in the afternoon and Bella's labor had only lasted about six hours, since we arrived just after eight in the morning.

"Umm… middle name… what about… Charlie? Charlisle? Carlie? Okay, I wanted something with the dad's names in it, but all my suggestions suck," I said with a nervous laugh as Bella looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. "Let's skip those suggestions and go with Isaac."

"I like it. When I think of Jackson, I think of Jackson Pollack, so you know I love that," Bella explained as I nodded my head in agreement. "Isaac is for the oldest Hanson brother?"

"Um no. I was thinking it could be for Isaac Albeniz, one of the greatest romantic composers," I told her as Bella smiled brightly at me.

"Jackson Isaac Cullen sounds really good baby. Sorry you didn't get the little girl you were expecting, but I hope you are pleased with this little bundle." I reached over and stroked the small tuft of brown hair on my newborn son's head, feeling completely fulfilled at that moment.

"I'm not upset at all actually," I told her honestly as I kissed the top of Jack's head and then leaned up to give Bella a kiss. "I'm thrilled because he is the perfect addition to our family. I wouldn't mind eventually trying for a girl, but we can consider that in a little while, after this one is at least one."

"Thanks for giving me a reprieve before we try for the next one," Bella laughed as I kissed her again and then she forced me to leave the room and call my family to let them know that the newest little Cullen had finally made his way into the world.

I stepped out into the hallway and was greeted by the smiling faces of my parents, who both looked excited to meet their third grandchild. Emmett and Rosalie had beaten Bella and I to the punch and had managed their second child, a daughter named Charlotte a little less than a month ago. Noah was a proud big brother, even though he was only one and a half. They clearly wasted no time moving onto the second child.

"How did it go? Alice called us shortly after Jasper picked up Hayden and we were too excited to sit at the apartment and wait for word. We hope you don't mind that we just showed up unannounced," my mother declared as I pulled her into a big hug and breathed a sigh of relief on her shoulder.

"So, where's my newest granddaughter?"

"Still in my loins apparently… we had a boy, named Jackson Isaac Cullen," I declared as my mother broke into tears and my dad pulled me into a hug and patted my back earnestly.

"I had two boys first and then a daughter, so have faith. I know you really wanted a girl, but I think it will happen for you two when it is meant to happen," he explained, giving me yet another small speck of wisdom that several years ago I never thought I would hear from him. I thanked him before stepping back into the room to check on Bella and then bringing my parents in to see Jackson.

When I watched Bella hand Jackson off to my mother, who was literally smiling from ear to ear, I knew my life was almost complete. If only I could see into my future and see when we would be blessed with the daughter I had been dreaming about, life would be perfect.

**BPOV – July 15, 2018**

"Momma, Hayden is pinch me," screamed Grace as she ran down the stairs of the house, her little feet carrying her as fast as they could. Edward and I were finally blessed with a daughter three years after Jack came along, and she was a precocious three year old.

As she ran into the room, her little chiffon dress making a ton of noise as she ran with her dress shoes on, I couldn't help but grab her around the waist and hold her in place. Hayden and Jackson were right behind her, in their little suits, looking adorable yet troublesome. "What's going on?"

"Grace wouldn't leave us alone," stated Hayden firmly as Jack just nodded his head in agreement. "We were trying to get your present wrapped and she wouldn't let us do it. She ripped the paper and…" I raised my hand to silence him and Hayden knew to quit when he was ahead. Unfortunately, Grace didn't have the same brains.

"I just wan to help em and they say no," explained Grace as I sat her back on her feet and then lined all three kids up in the hallway outside of mine and Edward's bedroom.

"Listen you guys, Dad is going to be home any second now and all of this is a big surprise for him, so please stop with the bickering and yelling. Momma and Daddy have been married for ten years as of today, and Momma is gonna make a big announcement, so please behave," I pleaded with them as Hayden nodded his head and then stared down his younger brother and sister, who both followed his lead and silently nodded in agreement.

I had Hayden usher the kids downstairs and into the living room, where they were to wait for Edward to arrive. He had been working late nights ever since he opened up his own business, composing music for movies and TV Shows. He had been in high demand at his previous job, but wasn't getting paid as much as he deserved, so when Edward said something, his former boss Paul fired him. It ended up being the best thing that could have happened for him because after a weekend of stressing, even though he didn't need to because we had plenty of cash stored away, Edward decided to go into business for himself.

I had been a little scared at first, but the transition into self employment was practically seamless. His newly retired father helped him with the business aspect of everything and Edward quickly advised all of his former clients that he was on his own. They preferred working with Edward, over the previous company, so almost everyone jumped ship to the new business and it was thriving, which of course meant long hours for my husband.

I finished putting on my pearls that Edward had given me for our fifth anniversary and made my way downstairs, finding the kids watching Nickelodeon as they waited for their father. I pulled the lasagna out of the oven and slipped in the garlic bread, having planned on one of Edward's favorite meals for dinner. When the timer went off to signal that the bread was done, I had spent the fifteen minutes busying myself in the dining room and getting the table set.

When Edward finally walked in the door just after six, everything was ready for him.

"Where are my hellion kids and why is the house so quiet?" he asked as he put his briefcase down beside the door and closed it behind him. "Usually Gracie is running up to me before I can even get out of the car."

"They are behaving themselves in the living room."

"Why?"

"Did you forget what today is?" I questioned him as he pulled out his iPhone and looked at the date.

"Ah fuck. I am an idiot. In the craziness of opening the business, I completely forgot about our anniversary. I promise I will make this up to you Bella," he declared as he strode confidently towards me and wrapped his arms around me, a small frown on his face as he leaned forward and kissed me feverishly.

"Well that was unexpected Mr. Cullen, but I am not upset. I knew you would be too busy to remember, but don't worry about it." I grabbed his hand and ushered him into the living room where the kids were still behaving themselves and watching TV. They looked so much alike, yet so different, and I smiled at as I wrapped my arm around Edward's waist and looked over at our kids. "Dinner is ready, so why don't you guys go into the dining room now."

Hayden grabbed Grace's hand and helped her from the living room, like a doting big brother. "Seriously… what did you do to our kids?"

"Nothing," I admitted honestly as I walked into the kitchen and began to serve the lasagna. Edward practically drooled as he looked at the spread, which included Ceaser Salad in addition to the bread and pasta. "They just wanted to do something nice for us on our anniversary. They have some sort of gift for us that they did themselves too."

"Really?" he asked incredulously as I nodded my head. "I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone."

"Just enjoy it."

"Oh, I plan to."

Edward helped me bring the meal into the dining room and the kids were eager to dive right into dinner, since I wouldn't let them snack earlier in the day. The conversation was quiet and casual, but Grace was her usual giddy self and could barely sit still. She ended up getting lasagna on her dress, ruining what had effectively been a perfect night. Once Edward had gotten her all cleaned up and she was sitting back in her chair, looking upset with herself, Hayden decided to break the tension.

"Here's the gift we got you guys," he announced as he got up from the table and fetched a package from the buffet table. He handed it to me and I looked at Edward tentatively, waiting for a signal from him. He nodded his head and I ripped open the package and gasped when I found a beautiful framed picture of the three kids.

"Grandma Esme did it," said Gracie happily as Jackson was quick to correct her.

"She didn't do it Grace. She had the picture taken and it's being made into a painting," he declared as my eyes grew wide and I noticed Edward looked just as shocked as I did. "You should get it soon."

"You are kidding right? Grandma Esme had you guys sit for this wonderful photo and she is turning it into a painting?" Edward asked, reading my mind. Jackson nodded his head with a wide smile on his face and I stood up to kiss each of my children excitedly.

Once the shock had worn off, Hayden and Jackson cleared the table as I fetched dessert from the fridge. I brought the tiramisu and set it on the table, waiting for the kids to sit down before I cut it up and began to dish it out. Before anyone could start eating, I decided it was time to give them all my surprise.

"So… I have an anniversary gift for your dad, but also for you guys too," I said as all the kids sat there, excitement in their eyes unsure of what I was going to say. "This dinner was all planned for a reason. We are going on holiday in early August." Edward began to protest, but I held my hand up to silence him immediately. "Don't look at me like that. I already spoke to your assistant, who has confirmed for me you have no deadlines or big compositions due around that time, so you are free of commitments."

"And where are we going on holiday?"

"Disneyworld?" asked Jackson, who was now sitting in his seat practically shaking with anticipation.

"No buddy… it's not Disneyworld," I said with a laugh, knowing full well Edward and I were already planning to take the kids over the Christmas holidays, to celebrate both Christmas and Hayden's tenth birthday. "We are going to Lake Como, Italy to stay in a private villa I have rented for us. I wouldn't cook Italian food if we were going to Disneyworld."

"No shit?" shouted out Edward, before he caught himself and apologized for swearing. Edward and I hadn't managed to make our way to Lake Como during any of our visits to Italy over the past fifteen years, and it was somewhere we were both desperate to go. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

"To make things even more exciting, Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett are coming with Noah, Charlotte, Anna and Mary," I added with a laugh, because we still thought it was hilarious that Em ended up with three daughters after his initial son. For a couple who wasn't overly keen on starting a family, they certainly made the most of their time together. "Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper are also coming with Camille and Randall."

"Really?" Hayden exclaimed eagerly, no doubt looking forward to spending time with his favorite cousin Randall.

"Yes… really. We leave in two weeks, so don't start packing yet," I laughed as Edward stood up and hugged me tightly as he whispered in my ear.

"I love the trip, but I'm glad to have my brother and sister there. Hopefully they can watch the kids so we can have some alone time."

"Why the hell do you think I invited them?"

**EPOV – June 20****th****, 2028**

I sat in my office at the house and it already felt empty. Hayden had only been gone a few days, but without him bouncing around the house, literally filling it with all the noise that came with him, it was different than I expected it to be.

Of course Grace had the house filled with her teenage girlfriends now that school was out and Jackson was usually outside playing soccer or baseball with his friends in the back yard. Bella and I had moved into a bigger house not longer after Grace turned five, determining that our small house in Bedford was a great starter house, but not where we planned to raise our kids long term. We had been living in our current house for almost eight years now and had enjoyed every second. Sure, the commute into the city took a lot longer than it used to, but it was worth it.

When the phone rang and no one answered it immediately, I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. Every time it had rang in the past, Grace was quick to answer it. I reluctantly rang my fingers through my hair and picked it up, expecting to find one of her friends on the other end.

"Cullen residence," I stated coolly as I was advised by a voice on the other end of the phone that I was getting a collect call from England. "I will accept the charges."

I was excited because I knew Hayden was on the other end of the phone and it had been almost three days since he had called last. He had called when he landed in London, but I had been at work and Bella answered, talking to him quickly as he confirmed his flight had arrived safely.

"Dad?" I heard Hayden question as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Champ… how is London?" I asked as I heard voices in the background and was immediately curious. When Hayden had mentioned he was using all of his graduation money from the family to travel to Europe over the summer before heading to Northwestern University in Chicago, I couldn't have been happier, although I was a little wistful."

"It's awesome Dad," he exclaimed as I heard him tell some people in the background to shut up as he tried to talk to me. "You will never guess what happened to me when I got to London?"

"Yeah, you are right… I won't be able to guess, so just tell me," I said with a laugh as Bella walked into the room and I slid my chair back slightly and patted my lap. Even though we had been together over twenty years, the love I felt for her was as strong as the first day I met her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and then hit the button to turn on the speaker phone.

"I met a girl," he announced as Bella let out a small gasp, but we continued to listen intently. "Her name is Shannon and she is a red headed Irish girl from Boston. Can you believe it? Boston!" I let out a small laugh, but he continued talking on about her. "She's going to the University of Chicago as a freshman in the fall. I'm still shocked. How much is this like your relationship with Mom?"

Bella kissed my temple as I tried to find the right words to both reassure and support my son in his decision. "Whatever you do, don't use the love between your mother and me as your guide. Follow your heart with this girl… but it's only been three days Hayden, so don't rush into anything. Use your brain."

"Thanks dad. I promise I won't do anything stupid or drastic. I just wanted to let you know… you'll tell Mom right?"

"Of course I will. Good luck… we miss you here you know," I stated as Bella clung to me closely and I could sense the tears pouring down her cheek. When I looked up, I used the pad of my thumb to push away the wetness that was coming. She had been a little scared when Hayden announced he wanted to go away, because she was such a protective mama bear when it came to the kids. My heart was breaking for her at that moment, because Hayden seemed so excited to be away from us.

"I miss you guys too! Give mom a big hug, tell her I love her and I will call in a few days." Hayden hung up almost immediately and Bella buried her head into my neck and I tightened my hold on her as she tried to calm her crying.

"He seems so happy," she said when she finally pulled back for a moment. "I hope he's not mad I sewed a Canadian Flag patch on his backpack." I broke out into loud laughter because I hadn't known she had done this, but it was so funny that she had followed in the footsteps of her own mother. "I know… I'm turning into Renee."

"Only in the best possible way baby," I said earnestly as Bella cracked a small smile and climbed from my lap.

"So Grace is going over to Chelsea's for dinner tonight and Jackson is out with Trey and Leo. Wanna go relive some of our own European exploits?" Bella asked playfully as she practically ran out of my office and I was quick to follow behind her, chasing her up the stairs and into our bedroom.

Hell yes I wanted to relive those moments. Over and over again, for the rest of our lives.

**A/N: This is the end my friends... no more American Series. No American Resthome, American Senior Citizens or American Grandparents. This is it. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Do you need a smoke? If so, you should quit. Smoking is gross.**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, MaggieMay14 for getting this back to me so quickly. Flightlessbird11 for being one of the best pre-readers known to man and all of you, some of the most loyal and fabulous readers in the fandom. You all know who you are, cause you review your little hearts out in every single chapter.**

**Let's consider this my christmas gift to you. Happy Holidays!**


End file.
